STOCKHOLM – Music fans just can’t get enough of this year’s Spotify Wrapped, which shows their top five songs, top five artists, and – new this year – the top five places Spotify is selling their personal information.
“It’s like, scary how totally accurate my top five artists are,” says user Jessica Mckenzie, of Oshawa. “And it’s genuinely terrifying that Spotify is selling my music taste, podcast preferences, and essentially my whole personality to third-party advertising partners.”
For music lovers around the world it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the most streamed song of the year was “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, while the most popular album was Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny. But did you know that Spotify’s number one marketing partner was WPP plc, a British multinational commerce holding company and the largest advertising firm in the world?
“I can’t believe my number one song was ‘Anti-Hero’ by Taylor Swift. I don’t even know what to do what that information,” says user Jonathan Willis. “I also don’t know what Mark Zuckerberg, Cambridge Analytica, and Russia’s cyber warfare division are going to do with that information. But apparently something, because they all bought it.”
Users can also use the Wrapped feature to learn about their Spotify habits, like what time of year they listened to all their favourite artists. And as it turns out, faceless corporations and both state and non-state intelligence agencies all around the world can use that information too.
“I was pretty surprised that I listened to 24,300 minutes of Jung Kook,” says user Casey Walters. “And I was really surprised by the next slide that just said ‘Don’t forget, Spotify is listening to you 525,600 minutes a year.’ What does that mean?”
Want to see your own Spotify Wrapped? It’s easy! Just download the app, agree to the privacy policy that gives Spotify full access to your contacts, photo library, and precise GPS location, and enjoy!
All user data collected on thebeaverton.com is sold to the Omnicom Group, the North Korean People’s Army, and Apple Music.
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