So, MIDiA’s latest Spotify Wrapped analysis reveals some eye-opening trends about listener behavior and artist engagement. This year’s findings underscore how the music industry continues to evolve.
As the holiday season unfolds, music lovers are once again embracing their Spotify Wrapped results, and MIDiA Research has stepped in to examine the data more closely. For the third consecutive year, they’ve compiled insights from their staff members to shed light on current trends within the music industry.
It’s essential to note that the MIDiA team consists of industry experts, not typical consumers, which can skew the findings. Their sample size includes 13 staff members, plus four additional friends and family to broaden the data pool. Despite its modest size, the analysis has often echoed broader industry patterns.
One significant takeaway from this year’s Wrapped is that among nine staff members who shared their data for both 2024 and 2025, all but one experienced a decline in total listening time, averaging a drop of 25.1%. A common theme emerged: many indicated a shift in their music consumption towards YouTube, particularly enjoying DJ sets, suggesting that competition for listener attention is intensifying.
Another intriguing statistic reveals that, on average, participants dedicated only 4.2% of their listening time to their top artist. This translates to listening to an astounding 2,728 songs from 1,488 different artists throughout the year. This statistic raises questions about the focus on superfans by rightsholders, who typically drive concert ticket sales and merchandise revenue, yet contribute little to total streaming shares.
Interestingly, the average top song in the sample received just 55 listens over the year, which amounts to a mere 0.4% of total music streaming time if we consider the average song length. This highlights the paradox facing artists today—while it’s easier to get a track listened to initially, securing ongoing engagement proves to be more challenging than ever.
Moreover, the average “top” album received only 642 minutes of listening time, accounting for just 1.7% of total annual listening. While this might emphasize the dominance of singles in the streaming era, MIDiA staff still engaged with a variety of albums, averaging 2.3 per month. Some even reported a decrease in Spotify usage as they turned to vinyl records for their music fix.
The contrast between music and podcast listening was also notable. Staff members logged an average of 1,042 minutes listening to podcasts—merely 2.8% of their music listening time of 37,229 minutes. This discrepancy is telling; music easily fits into daily routines, suggesting why it remains a more popular choice for everyday listening compared to podcasts.
Despite this, podcasts are siphoning off potential music streaming time. With Spotify’s premium subscriber count, the accumulated podcast listening could translate into an astounding amount of music time lost. Furthermore, as podcasts vie for both streams and advertising revenue with music platforms, the competitive atmosphere continues to heat up.
The Wrapped results also revealed a concept of ‘listening age,’ indicating the age users would be if they only listened to music popular during their formative years. Most participants had a listening age that exceeded their actual age, with some Gen Z and millennials scoring as high as their 70s or 80s. This trend indicates that the relevance of new releases is diminishing; music is considered ‘new’ as long as it’s fresh to the listener.
As MIDiA provides more insights into this year’s Wrapped, their analysis not only reflects individual listening habits but also critiques the broader state of the music industry. From staff favorites like “Same Day Cleaning” by Sammy Virji and “West End Girl” by Lily Allen to listening trends that raise pivotal questions about artist engagement, the findings are essential for anyone invested in the music scene’s future.
