(NEXSTAR) — Spotify Wrapped season is upon us — it’s the time of year when Spotify users worldwide prepare for their year-end wrap-up of what they listened to (and how much of it) this year. But this year, Spotify has dispelled a long-held belief by many — weighing in on when exactly the cutoff isn’t.
Last week, entertainment news source Pop Base sent a reminder to its followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Spotify would stop counting their listens on Halloween. It’s been a long-held belief by many that Oct. 31 was the official cutoff date. The company’s customer support account Spotify Cares confirmed the cutoff date back in 2019. But this year, Spotify replied with a surprise.
“Hmm, that doesn’t sound right to us,” Spotify’s official account said. “Don’t worry, Wrapped is still counting past Oct. 31.”
Response to the news ranged from shock to celebration by so-called “Swifties” that there was still time to make newly released Taylor Swift songs their top tracks. But with Spotify’s clarification came more confusion. If the listening cutoff isn’t Halloween, when is it?
Spotify didn’t elaborate in its X posts or respond to any users asking the question in its replies. The company has historically not given too much insight into exactly how Wrapped works or its cutoff dates — likely to prevent manipulation.
Nexstar has reached out to Spotify for more information on its Wrapped cutoff and we’ll update once we hear back. In the meantime, here’s what we do know.
Some of the most recent guidance we have came last November.
As reported by Mashable, Spotify VP of Product Development Babar Zafar said at a Wrapped press event that coverage begins in January and ends “a few weeks prior to the launch on November 30.”
“We aim to leave the cutoff date as late as possible to really create a truly personalized experience for the millions of listeners around the world,” said Zafar.
Alas, we may never know for sure.
What’s for certain is Spotify Wrapped is incoming — unless you’re not a Spotify subscriber. In that case, you can look forward to the second year of Apple Music’s equivalent, Replay. Elsewhere, there’s also Year in Review for YouTube Music users.
