Eli

All right, Day One FM. It has actually been a while since we've been on the ones and twos.

Clara

On the horn.

Eli

Exactly. Feet held to the fire. I've missed you guys. Wow.

Clara

We've been I mean, we've been around though, you know, you just I guess we haven't all been in the pod studio, sweating in the infrared sauna.

Eli

Great. Yeah. Well, there's lots to unpack Henriques Kissinger. But no, actually, you know, everyone is talking about Spotify Wrapped. So I guess we have to talk about Spotify Wrapped to both from a curiosity standpoint on my end, because I'm a unabashedly, Apple Music user, but also from a cultural standpoint, because that's what everyone's talking about right now. So, I mean, I know both of you, Trey and Clara have gathered ample research and opinion on all of this. Well, first of all, I'm curious. I'm curious about what your, you know, top wrapped. However, whatever the metrics are, Trey is being coy. No, so, I've come to terms with it. My top artists is the Jonas Brothers.

Clara

What was the reason? Can you like do you think so?

Trey

I know why. Well, I think like, the larger thing is that there have been very few musical releases this year by acts that are not like, and I think we'll get into this more but like, algorithmically driven, so all of the, you know, biggest artists. All of the biggest artists on like most lists that I've seen are people who have established their fame, kind of pre like culture being fractured, essentially. The Jonas Brothers, namely, the front runner here. No, it was like the Jonas Brothers, Travis Scott. And then like John Williams, I listened to a lot of like the Stepmom movie soundtrack. But no, I'll just say though, that there, they had a song come out called wings. And it was like, algorithmically, you know, under two minutes, and so I played it probably went a kind of over and over again while I cleaned and then therefore, the Jonas Brothers shot to the top of my list. And I got a great message from them thanking them for being a huge fan. So Clara?

Clara

Oh my gosh, I mean, it's like just you're watching an Instagram story except it's Day One FM it's like me trying to explain my wrapped but so my top my Top Artists this year was Death, which is like which it was because it was like, to your point, kind of like my listening habits I would say is like, I go down into like, a wormhole for a time and like, I only listened to really like one or two things intensely, and then I'll kind of like migrate over to something else. So at the beginning of this year, I got really into this band, I watched a documentary about them. And...

Trey

So the band is called Death?

Clara

The band is called death. They're like a...

Trey

Prog metal.

Eli

Clara's Okay everyone.

Clara

There is like. I'll share around the links, everything's fine, but I got really interested. Um, but then my other top artists were like, I mean, the other girls you know, I had like my Lana Del Rey in there. I had Olivia Rodrigo. I had my top song I had Caroline Polachek in there.

Trey

Your girl depression girl.

Clara

I know I had no like, literally like there were a couple of things that were sad. It was like Norman fucking Rockwell, most listened to in August. I was like, Damn, look at you.

Eli

Cruel summer.

Clara

I know. But it was, I don't know. It was kind of funny to go back and revisit But Jacques and Nick and I actually our fellow Day One Spotify users. And we were talking in the kitchen earlier about how like, some to your point about like algorithmically inclined music releases. Nick was bringing up a reference which I couldn't totally find but like I did find something from last year talking about how Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift you like for the past few years have kind of traded back and forth the top positions. They've also and they are very, like prolific song releasers like, especially with Taylor's version albums and like Bad Bunny is always on like different features, and releases a lot of remixes and new songs so that like, honestly, there are some artists that are just like more algorithmically inclined to be sort of top streamed artists.

Trey

Like Drake was like, I'm not releasing any more albums. Just kidding this Friday.

Clara

But I do think and like I don't know I got a little bit into some of the numbers of it, but like a song stream I know Eli, we've been talking about this, but a song stream counts is 30 seconds or more. So you don't even really have to listen to the whole song for it to count as a listen, which I thought was interesting to like, in terms of like when you put on a playlist to like work or run or do whatever, like, there's a lot of songs I listened to for 30 seconds. So then it's like, well, that's enough. You know? Yeah, moving on. No, Apple Music is the same for what it's worth Eli.

Eli

I don't understand how Apple has like some of the best technological infrastructure when the hardware and completely given up on all of us. Which you know, it is fine. It's fine. Yeah. I don't need to tap through the Apple Music Replay. And it's...

Trey

You dont even know the name of it.

Eli

Well, they don't market it at all.

Clara

And it's browser only.

Eli

It is browser, it's pathetic. I mean, it's fine. It's fine.

Trey

You know, I mean, let me go on my Zune.

Eli

But Spotify has all these like fun, creative ways to tell. Maybe your sounds around data. I mean, Clara, pull it up, pull it up, pull up the tomato girl data.

Clara

Oh, okay. So I don't know, I was going through the Spotify newsroom article.

Eli

And this is a new phenomenon. Just take a step back. Because I feel like Spotify route maybe it was like, introduced what 2019 or whatever? Yeah, but people started talking about it during covid?

Clara

Well, I think they started to make it more and more like social friendly. And every year, it's gotten kind of like more over the top in terms of like, here's your sound town. And like, if you were a flavor, you'd be pumpkin spice like all of that stuff. I don't know. That's my voice. But, you know, like, you get sort of this weirder and weirder information about it. Like I think it used to be just like, here's your top artists and it's sort of gotten bigger and bigger each year. But the thing that I wanted to talk about slash show you guys was in Spotify, his own recap, they have like these different trends per month. And some of them are really funny. Like I sent Eli the one about, okay, in September, we saw a 580% increase in searches related to Roman Empire, and of the 1000s of related playlists on Spotify. Nearly 75% were created by men. I bet you can guess the songs but Viva la Vida by Coldplay.

Trey

Oh my god.

Clara

Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears. My House by Flo Rida. Which is hilarious. And then Another One Bites the Dust by Queen. And then just really quickly last one was cherry red tomatoes and hot pink playlets called the colored a summer full of girl power music was a key ingredient in this summer's tomato girl trend with a 500% increase in the creation of tomato girl playlists in the US.

Eli

Who's writing this and is this real?

Clara Malley

Then 10,000 girl dinner playlists.

Eli

10,000?

Clara

I think it's like it's a classic. Trying to show like culture is happening on Spotify, you know? And it's a 1,600% increase as the pickleball craze picked up around the world daily searches for pickleball related increase.

Eli

White noise it's just pickleball.

Clara

Oh, and then lastly following the season four premiere of HBO succession us streams of succession main title theme spiked by 350%.

Eli

I can get behind that

Clara

Someone who did cue it lasted into my ear drums at least once a day.

Trey

Who are these people though, who like they see a trend online and then put it into literally every search box they come across, including Spotify. Like there's not pickleball music. So like who are you?

Clara

It exists. Like that's what I'm telling you right now is that that's the playlist that people are...

Trey

Like dads at home being like pickleball, pickleball.

Eli

What would be in the pickleball playlist?

Clara

They don't have the run down. Eye of The Tiger The same way that they have the others will have to do our own independent research.

Trey

I just would like to shout out our fans in Brazil. We did check our own Day One FM. Oh yeah, I think number two and three countries were Canada in the UK. So Hello, fellow Brits. Thank you all my listeners,

Eli

Brits? Although I guess it is part of the Commonwealth isn't it?

Trey

Amen. Yes.

Clara

Amen. Sister, Toronto.

Eli

Yeah, I think all of that data is interesting slightly concerning. I would love to meet some of these people. I don't mean to poopoo it but it's just hard to hard to believe. But I will say so like, found this and found this. I scrolled upon it. In Casey Lewis...

Clara

The most passive voice ever.

Trey

My most hovered over.

Clara

My most hovered over length this week. I mean, it's good.

Eli

Came across this in Casey Lewis's fan favorite After School newsletter. She highlighted the top global artists listened to by Gen Z running down the list. Taylor Swift who by the way, 2023 is most streamed artists globally raking in more than 26.1 billion streams since January one. That accounts for about $300. In royalties, anyway, Bad Bunny, The Weekend, Drake, Peso Pluma I guess it blown up Travis Scott, Lana Del Rey, Aarijit Singh, SZA and Fade, I don't know, two out of 10 of these. But to your point, Trey, all of the top artists are I feel like are like a pre algorithm acts. And it just, I'm a bit confused whether we are like peak mono culture or peak fragmentation because I feel like all of the most popular shit is like mainstream artists, are movies and TV like NCIS.

Trey

Right, I think it's like a, I think it's a both cases scenario where, because mono culture has effectively ended, people who have established their listening habits prior to the monoculture fracturing, ie everyone who graduated in like 2013. And before, you are gonna stick with those artists, you know, unless you're like, extremely curious and not, you know, making these blanket statements, but I think for the most part, like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, even you could argue like Doja Cat, all these kinds of folks are the artists that have established themselves before this kind of fracturing of culture before the algorithm and like Spotify even fractured all the genres of music into like, alt pop, you know, computer boot, boot music or something, so that you don't even know what to search for. So you literally have people searching pickleball trying to find artists and it's like, Bro, that's not a music genre. So like, you are either listening to a Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift, or you're really trying to discover new music and you're listening to like, prog metal from the 80s.

Clara

Yeah, I mean, I do think there's a, I don't know, I agree with you. Like, I think it's been hard for young artists to break through. But I feel like we've struggled around it a lot this year. But like, is the problem the way that platforms have structured their algorithms for like a basically against discovery and like, not really incentivized in terms of like, I feel like we talked about it with Tony to like, it wants to give you stuff that you like, anyway, and I feel like that's Spotify kind of like the rap stuff sort of reinforces that of like, just showing everything you like back at you,

Trey

Right. Yeah, that's my point to where your Spotify Wrapped, which comes out, I guess, late November, culminates in your top songs of 2023 playlist, which is literally all the music you've listened to the most this year, reflected back in like a playlist that they expect you to listen to, for the next month, basically. So like, nobody is discovering new music in December, basically, because you're listening to your top songs of 2023. And like, I guess, reflecting back on how great it was to listen to Wings by the Jonas Brothers, like 20 times in a row. I don't know. But it's kind of weird to me that, like, there are a couple, you know, there's a couple of strange things about Spotify Wrapped, that I still am trying to wrap my head around. But the main thing that I really think is interesting about this phenomenon I would call it is that it has been going on since 2015. And Spotify is probably the only brand that can literally use your personal data in a way that gets you excited to see it.

Eli

Explicitly.

Trey

Yes, yeah. So like any other, you know, imagine like your doctor creating your like, you know, medical rap report or something like no other brand can use your data in kind of interesting ways that makes you want to literally share your kind of very personal habits in a way like music, I guess you could argue is, like, quasi personal or not. I just find that, you know, peep there have been I think probably less than 2% of Spotify users have complained about their data being used or aggregated or like added to some trend report or like, you know, it's I think that's kind of weird, isn't it? Maybe not?

Eli

No, I think it is. I mean, it's a it's a kind of a cynical outlook but you you know me, kind of it's kind of like go to like.

Trey

I like to check on my banking apps to see how much I've spent on like seamless this month, but if it was like you ate this many Chinese takeout.

Eli

Yeah, I mean it is a format that's replicated by I mean how many like pick a brainstorm Oh, like I love the wrapped format that they do.

Trey

Right and no other brand can pull it off because like, you know how much Aflac insurance money have I wasted this year? Like?

Eli

Have we just surrender? Is this like the final? The final beast.

Trey

Or is it the first? First first boss

Clara

Trey like music is in that weird sort of in between space of like I feel like for a normal consumer brand the only way that it could really be reflected back to you is like how much money you spent or how much you've like, consumed in a way, which is gross.

Trey

And I get grossed out knowing I'm a huge bronas brother.

Clara

Um, but yeah, I mean, I guess the only thing that's keeping other brands from doing it is just the fact that it would be I feel like so icky to see not to say that they can't get more innovative and figure out a way to do it.

Eli

But I guess music doesn't give you like a consumption ick, whereas like, if you're doing Uber Eats like this was the amount of pad siu you ordered this year. Oh, okay, maybe.

Trey

That's weird, because I have a friend who posted his Spotify wrapped and he listened to 100,000 minutes of music.

Eli

I don't think that's weird.

Trey

He was like, I listen, while I'm sleeping. I have Spotify on. And I'm like, in one day, he listened to like 1334 minutes of music, which equates to almost literally the 24 hours. So he like literally had Spotify going all day. And to that, I would say mental illness. But like...

Eli

I disagree. I disagree.

Trey

You're like a Mozart, like you have a Mozart for babies out of two words. You disagree. That's like a normal behavior.

Clara

Just throwing me under the bus. All I was doing was laughing at Trey's funny joke.

Eli

I'm not saying normal behavior. But I'm not saying it's wild. I don't know my headphones on a decent amount of time. Like, it's not that weird. So Clara has NPR in the background of her apartment like 24/7 You called me a Mozart baby.

Clara

Yeah, I don't know. I mean, the only other thing that I can think of that kind of does track your data in that way is something like Strava. Or like if you use a running app like that, and it gives you like your...

Trey

But that is like achievement based. But my main point here is that I think data is being harvested at a level to which we are still not even fully privy like where it's going, what it's being used for. And this is like one of those weird phenomena where your data is being served back at you and you are celebrating it. And I think that is going to increasingly happen as more brands like we said kind of crack that formula so they can show you how much of a superfan you are of this brand. Yeah, and like it's already happening. We're seeing it elsewhere. But like, to whatever degree Spotify has like cracked the code and now people literally look forward to this like a holiday and kind of you know decide to consume media in a way that it will give them a result that they desire. So they're like, either proud to share their results or like ashamed and joking about that or meaning it or they're from you know, Berkeley sound town or whatever the heck.

Clara

And that's exactly. Where I feel like but Spotify I feel like lives more in that lane of it is like an achievement thing. I'm like, I'm in the top 0.1%. And I think that that's how they frame it of like, you are one of Taylor's favorite and important listeners are like you listen to more music than XYZ amount of people are like, it makes you feel sort of like special and like...

Trey

What town are you from? Berkeley. Yeah, I'm from Santa Cruz. Is it only California or no, some of its Burlington.

Clara

Yeah, I saw some people got Burlington, some people got like Brixton like somewhere in UK.

Trey

The point. Yeah, the also noisy point is like, rather than it just being a kind of fun insight into your listening habits and like where other folks who listen to the same music are from people were starting to question whether there were deals struck with like the tourism boards of these cities. And that I know it's like a lot but like, I'm like, is this real? Is this...

Eli

I mean, I can to the to the point of like, how can we format our like storytelling or content in like a Spotify wrapped rapper? I bet you there is like, how can we insert ourselves into the Spotify Wrapped conversation by like, naming this town via a Spotify playlist, you know, because people know that this to your point. This is like a holiday.

Clara Malley

Well did think it was interesting? They were all like no offense to the tourism boards who cashed out for this but like they were all like dupe cities, you know?

Trey

Like, no one actually.

Clara

Show me my city. I was like, okay, foreign travel. And I was in Santa Cruz. Like I've got it like transfer airline, you know what I mean?

Trey

Right but travel brands now we're like, oh, how can we capitalize on the sounds of Berkeley or Burlington to create destination? I don't know. There's like so many levels and we're, you know, what are the different level we're like in fifth circle of hell here.

Clara

Yeah, exactly. Longer to go before we sleep. What is it miles to go? I don't know. The Robert Frost nevermind.

Eli

Don't get poetic here.

Clara

I was trying to infuse a little bit I would like to say thank you to Nikki Six for the Motley Crew. Thank you video for being once again. My top artist. No, they were I think number three this year so it's it's, I've tapered a little.

Eli

Yeah, I feel kind of left out but kind of refreshingly so.

Trey

It's both like.

Eli

Well, do you think some people look at it like a horoscope? Like, this is gonna tell me a lot about what I'm, what I'm meant to do? Or what I'm meant to be doing? I guess not because it's more backwards.

Trey

I just find it funny and like myself included in this but being shocked at your results. And then it's like, you literally, you literally did you like Who did that? Who took over?

Clara

Who listened to Olivia Rodrigo's album 500 times like, couldn't have been me honestly. Like, maybe I left my phone on. But I guess that is to your point about like seeing your own information reflected back at you like, I don't know how I feel about it. It's kind of uncanny. I don't believe it. You know, I'm like, surely the Tourism Board is like, you know, like you just sort of assume somebody's cooking the numbers because your friends and loved ones have come together to let you know that that was a scary time.

Eli

Well, that does get to the question that we've been toiling with, I suppose for the Predictionary, like all around data, and the ways that data is used to tell or manufacture certain narratives. And I feel like no one's really questioning any of the data methodology or the fact that it's your data, your behavior and like trade to your point, and no one really has a problem with that. But I do think we are reaching a point where it's like, you have all of these metrics, which means different things across different platforms. I mean, right now we're talking about like, a music stream. But in the videos in the video space, you have like a TikTok view, or YouTube view, or reals view. And like all of those things mean, something slightly different, because they're quantified in a different way. But we think about them as all meaning the same, if that makes sense. So then, like, the numbers don't really add up whatsoever. Yeah. So I think we're gonna soon reach a point where it's like, Are people even going to pay attention to these metrics as a metric of success at all?

Trey

Well, I think data is gonna get more personal. And by that, I mean, like, we've always, we've always had box office numbers, we've always had the Billboard charts, and people love to see their favorite artists succeeding and like, oh, your person is number one, or they sold this many albums or this many streams. But like, it's hard to quantify numbers that large, you know, even thinking about like a stadium tour selling out or something. And it's like, Beyonce had the best selling tour of all time, or maybe with Taylor Swift, I forget who now, but like, oh, they made billions of dollars or something. But it's hard to quantify that. And that means to me as personally as a fan personally. But when you tell me that I listen to 100,000 minutes of music, that means something. And it's like these, these bits of data that can literally kind of tug at your heartstrings and give you that Pavlovian response where you have to share, I think is how data is going to be used going forward more and more. So it's like you have a personal stake in this artists doing well or this brand. You know, you're being a superfan of this brand.

Eli

Three more listens to add to add Taylor Swift to the top of the Spotify rap streams, it could be you

Trey

Well that's how the Mariah Carey became like a Christmas fixture like All I Want For Christmas Is You it was not a big deal really, until I think around 2015 and it was Spotify wrapped. Well, I'm not gonna you know, credit Spotify wrapped for her like Ascension, but it has now made her over a million dollars just in streams alone. Because it's like, not time yet. Oh, it's time and she's helped to like gamify you know, that personal stake people have been sending her songs are at the top of the charts again, kind of kind of crazy.

Eli

Yeah, chart topper. Topper, not me, the personalized data thing is interesting, if not very worried, worrisome.

Trey

Well because wasn't there a Wired article or something and I'm just now pulling things out of my ... But I think somewhere somebody was predicting that it's going to start into like the medical space. So we are going to see data like medical data being used about not just like steps walked or you know, weight loss or something, but you know, like your blood type dictating this or like, you know, I don't know your DNA being swabbed and it will tell you this about like your, you know, age expectancy.

Clara

I don't know about you guys, but I already get a lot of those types of ones where it's like, well, your metabolism might be different than other people. Like send us your cheek swab and we'll like, let you know exactly like what you have to eat in order to be at your like, top, whatever. And I'm like this is hectic.

Eli

So it sounds like we are over optimizing for everything. Right?

Trey

Oh, I mean, that's not a question.

Eli

You're right, it is more of a statement that we are over optimizing like you were the aura ring. So you know, exactly how you're how you're sleeping and how many paces you've walked in your Apple Watch will tell you about your heart rate. And your Spotify wrapped will tell you that you've listened to 121,000 hours of Taylor Swift

Trey

And they will like share it with your doctor automatically. So like they can be tracking and diagnosing you.

Eli

You're listening to a worry, worrisome amount of Taylor Swift, are you okay?

Clara Malley

It's like, checking in and checking in on you notification.

Eli

Yeah, I mean, another thing we were talking about is like, are we trying to what are the potential damages of like quantifying culture like that outside of the more like insidious data capture of it all and sell it back to you?

Trey

might, you might hear my theory or...

Eli

Of course that's why we're why we're here Trey.

Trey

You got the questions like all the answers. Well, I think that, you know, as culture becomes more fractured, and as like, fans become even more invested in the people that they are fans of, you know, when you're armed with data, it's essentially like arming an army with weapons. So like, I have more weapons, I have bigger guns than your side. And like the barbs come for the swiftys or whatever. And they're armed with data like so. And so outsold, blah, blah, blah, you know what I mean? So I think like that data is really useful to a fan that wants to like, see, you know, their behavior rewarded, essentially.

Eli

I agree. My question is, like, what happens when the data is like, doesn't make sense, when the data is cooked? I'm going back and forth between data and data.

Clara

Trying them both out? I'll send them back the one I don't like.

Eli

I mean, that's a more like, meta question. Yeah. You know what I mean? Not totally based off of just hypothesis?

Trey

Well, yeah, I think that like, you know, the further we go down the rabbit hole, the further we'll realize that like corporations that control our data are obviously tweaking it to their benefit. And that's the most sinister piece of all. Thanks for listening. Tune in next time.

Clara

I mean, yeah, like into your point, too, though, like, take for instance, this stat that I feel like everyone gets on their top artists, it's like, you're in the top, 0.1% of listeners of this artists, like, it sounds really meaningful. And like even putting aside whether or not that that's like, real or cooked or whatever, if you imagine for Taylor Swift, how big she is, how many people listen, there's probably a lot of people in that top point, 1%, or whatever, but like, because there isn't context or framing and because like maybe most people, whatever it may be, it doesn't matter, maybe they don't have the data literacy to understand exactly what it means. But like, it sounds nice, and I just, I think, unfortunately, like cooked or otherwise, like, it kind of ladders into the same thing as what you're talking about, of like, it allows people to feel good in whatever niche they are, but also feel like a certain amount of like, either like ownership or a sense of like, helps defend their stance on whatever artists they like, or you could you know, take it to a political arena or say whatever. But like, everybody does get their numbers. And I don't think that it's not in your self interest as someone who's deeply vested enough to be on Twitter and like yelling at Barb's like, it's like, you're not then also being like, no, no, no. Where's the Nielsen rate? You know, like, they're not, they're just not those sorts of people.

Eli

Actually.

Trey

When I think like the establishment from whence the data comes, if it is like, framing the data in a specific way, everyone who sees the data or uses the data will also think that way, so like a bad example, but Donald Trump saying like, this is the fake news media, all the followers are gonna be like, Oh, that's fake news. So I'm saying that like, everyone who frames the data has a very big responsibility to do it in a way that everyone doesn't like, misconstrue it and use it to their own ends that are possibly negative or to reward their own behavior, which is possibly negative seek, like a fan specifically who probably do some wild stuff, and maybe you shouldn't, but the data can back you up.

Clara

It's true. It's a scary scary world. Alright, I'm in the top one percent.

Eli

Of Death. Yeah, should we wrap it up there?

Clara

Yeah, I've had enough. I'm kidding. I had a great time.

Eli

All right. Thank you all for listening. Yeah. And you know, and you know, and fellow listeners, send us your Spotify wrapped. We're curious to hear. We want to know,

Trey

Are you with Joe Bro or a Death?

Eli

All right, play us out. Yo, thanks for tuning in. Stay up to date with all things Day One FM by subscribing to our page on Spotify following us on Instagram @d1a and staying up to date with the latest trends and insights on d1a.com/perspective.