Spotify Wrapped vs Apple Music Replay Review

Spotify has finally released its highly anticipated Spotify Wrapped for 2019, with an extra-strong hit of nostalgia in the mix this year. Everyone is sharing their trips down the decade-long memory lane as we near the end of 2019 and the beginning of a new decade (seriously, am I the only one who’s not ready for the term ‘20s’ to become a thing already?).

This year, rival streaming giant Apple Music introduced its own take on Spotify Wrapped, Apple Music Replay, a few weeks ahead of Spotify’s annual release (which launched a day earlier this year on December 5th). But for all the Apple fans out there, the question begs, does the new Apple Music Replay function really live up to Spotify’s Wrapped toolset? Let’s take a look at both music streaming services' retrospectives.

Spotify users can view personalised stats for the songs, artists, albums, genres and podcasts they discovered and streamed the most this year. For the first time, metrics for podcast lovers and a whole new ‘My Decade Wrapped’ section to celebrate your most loved artists and songs of the last 10 years as we enter the 20s. Spotify Premium users can access a wider range of personalised metrics (see below for more details).

New this year, Spotify has made it much easier for users to quickly view their stats via the mobile app. With the shareable cards on the app, you can also post some fun, personalised listening stats on Instagram Stories, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat in a jiffy. Previously, users could only access Spotify Wrapped by web browser and it was a little hard to find. This function is still available for those on desktop at spotify.com/wrapped and it still provides the same 15 interactive infographics you’d browse through on mobile (accessing Spotify Wrapped on the Spotify desktop app is not available as of yet).

What’s getting people excited on social media is Spotify’s Best of the Decade feature, letting all your friends know your Artist of the Decade, as well as your Top Artist and Top Song for every year since 2010 (or since you first subscribed to Spotify).

Spotify’s Music of the Decade section has also been garnering a lot of interest. As well as giving Most Streamed Songs of the Decade and New Music Trends of the 10s a play, you can easily hold a throwback party without worrying about the tunes with The Party Hits of the 2010s (it’s already gaining a 70K+ following) or relive your favourite summer hits with 10 Summers You Won’t Forget. I’ll definitely be streaming the curated Best of the Decade For You because the only thing better than throwback music is throwback music you actually enjoyed listening to right?

As well as the standard Your Top Songs for the year, Spotify has introduced an entire Wrapped 2019 music category which includes a wide range of playlists, analysing the top tracks and artists of 2019 overall, by country and gender.

The ‘genre-fluid’ category was introduced for the first time this year for users who listened across a range of music categories, although some have criticised some genre definitions (including arguments on the definition of pop-rap). Plus, the ‘world citizen’ category, for those who’ve listened to tracks from across different countries, is also an interesting take on the global reach Spotify has in comparison to Apple Music and more US-based streaming services including Tidal and Amazon Prime Music.

Is your Spotify Wrapped not working or do you just need help learning how to find it? You can view Spotify Wrapped online at spotify.com/au/wrapped. You’ll need to sign in before you’ll see Your Spotify Wrapped.

Alternatively, head onto the Spotify mobile app for Android or Apple smartphone and tablet users. The Wrapped shortcut will be displayed on your Home tab or find it in the Search tab under the Wrapped 2019 category (or you can just type it into the search bar).

Apple Music Replay ‘19 was released a couple of weeks ago and finally means Apple Music users don’t have to feel the FOMO over their friends‘ Spotify Wrapped metrics. Or, do they?

With the Replay ‘19 playlist, users can access their top 100 most played songs over the last 12 months, as well as for every year since joining Apple Music. Unfortunately, since Apple Music only launched in 2015, the earliest Replay playlist you can generate will be from 2015. This is definitely not as comprehensive as Spotify Wrapped, which has personalised top artist and song metrics available for the entire decade (assuming you joined Spotify in 2010 or earlier).

You’ll also get some information on how many hours you spent playing music on the platform, as well as on your most streamed artists and albums. However, the personalised metrics available are very limited compared to Spotify Wrapped, which will generate as mentioned its 15 cards of infographics even around the genres and country of origin of the songs you listened to.

Don’t despair though. One plus of Apple Music’s Replay ‘19 feature is that all of the playlists will be available all-year round and the Replay playlist will auto-populate every week as you listen to more music. In comparison, Spotify Wrapped is usually seasonal and only gets released near Christmas time. The Replay playlist can also be added to your friends’ Apple libraries, so they can afloat of all the tunes you’re currently listening to.

Another benefit is that the Apple Music Replay feature is completely free, which is great news for those who don’t have Spotify Premium and so can’t access the full range of Spotify Wrapped metrics.

The easiest way to get your Apple Music Replay is online via the Apple Music Web Player at beta.music.apple.com/replay (which is still in the beta testing stage). Click “Get Your Replay Mix” and you’ll be prompted to enter your Apple ID login details. Once signed in, you’ll see your top songs of the year and all the other metrics mentioned above.

You can also access Apple Music Replay through the Apple Music app on iPhone, iPad or Mac. Go to the Browse tab on the app and click the ‘19 Replay banner, which will send you to the web browser version.