Spotify's Wrapped needs no introduction. The initiative (feature or campaign, pick your description) started back in 2016 and gives the chance to users to see a summary of their listening data over the year. That, however, is not the cherry on the top. Where Wrapped truly excels at is the ability to incentivize people to share their stats and favourites on social media. The hype is real.
"The story of your year with Spotify" reads Wrapped's homepage and it definitely delivers on that.
Historically, Spotify Wrapped features the five artists and songs you had listened to the most, your favorite genres and a few other playful / obscure data points which further make not sharing on Instagram really difficult.
What's new in Spotify Wrapped 2022?
This year, the product / marketing team at Spotify are spicing things up. They launched their Soundcheck hub - "a complete checklist of actions you can take now to prepare for the biggest fan moment of the year."
I couldn't stress this enough - if a streaming platform (in this case Spotify) gives you a new feature, as an artist you should make the best out of it. So, what's new?
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- artists can now upload up to 30-second vertical videos
- showcase their merch (for this, you need to be using Shopify)
- promote their upcoming shows
Spotify Wrapped 2022 - Artist Video
Wrapped is just a few weeks ahead, but you still have enough time to record and upload your fan videos. They need to be uploaded by November 18th via the Spotify for Artists portal.
All videos must be vertical and under 30 seconds. You can simply thank your fans for their support this past year or share news and updates about what's coming up next. Alternatively, you can just speak about something you deeply care about to people who (clearly) deeply care about you.
Out of the 3 features, I personally consider this one as the most important and powerful one. It would not only help you bond with listeners (not necessary followers), but I bet if they haven't followed you yet, after this they would. It adds a layer of personal connection - something artists and labels have asked for from Spotify since forever.
The process is pretty straight forward.
- head to your S4A homepage and click on the Wrapped card
- add title to your video
- select your thumbnail
- videos must be less than 30 seconds, vertical and at least 1280px x 1080x in mp4 format
- videos should have no music, singing, or lyrics, no explicit content, no logos or brands and no added text, graphics, or filters on top
Spotify Wrapped 2022 - Merch showcase
Showcasing your merch is another new benefit added to Wrapped. Given that these are your hardcore fans it only makes sense to give them a new opportunity to support you (besides streaming of course). If you think from a conversion perspective, these are the people who would most likely buy your merch and promote you in the real world by wearing it.
Spotify Wrapped 2022 - Shows promotion
Similarly to the merch, if you happen to be playing live any time soon, it's a no-brainer to let your most dedicated fans know.
I am not sure if Spotify is geo-targeting those listings - ie if someone plays in Berlin I should definitely see this in my Wrapped, but do I care if they perform in LA... most probably not.
How to link your shows to Spotify Wrapped
- list your concerts on one of Spotify's partner sites - Ticketmaster, Songkick, Resident Advisor, Eventbrite, DICE (full list here)
- double-check if data is correct on your Spotify artist profile (in the On Tour section)
The rest is on Spotify's hands to promote them for you.
Spotify Wrapped 2022 summary
If you've made it that far in this article I think it should be clear - Spotify are trying to give more power to artists when it comes to their direct-to-fan communication. I am fully aware that self-recording is not a thing for every artist, but it's good to know your option and experiment.
Very excited to see how creative artists and labels become in 2022.
Mugs, t-shirts,
hoodies, vinyls & more.
