Spotify Wrapped 2025 has arrived, bringing a wealth of new personalised features to this annual summary. The highlights of this year’s wrap include “Top Artists” and “Top Songs”, but users will also be introduced to a unique “listening age” derived from their music preferences and listening behaviour. Reports suggest that individuals who favour classic rock, jazz, or older music genres are being classified as “old”. Consequently, this new listening age metric has sparked significant discussion, with many customers feeling upset about their designated ages.

Understanding Spotify Wrapped’s Listening Age

The Spotify Wrapped 2025 summary now presents a feature called “listening age,” which assigns users an age based on their musical tastes. In essence, individuals are being categorised as older due to their enjoyment of songs from earlier times. The platform reportedly assesses users’ listening age by examining the release dates of the tracks they listen to, grouping users according to the specific 5-year periods that are most frequently played. It then evaluates listening patterns to classify users into distinct age segments.

Now, numerous younger listeners, particularly those in their 20s, have shared their reactions to their listening age results, with many expressing dissatisfaction after being categorised as being older than 50 or 60. A Gen-Z individual remarked that they were identified as an 83-year-old based on their listening preferences.

Although the assessment seemed puzzling, as their top artists featured contemporary talents like Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, along with familiar classic tracks such as “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King and “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison. This blending of old and new is likely what contributed to their Spotify listening age determination. Conversely, numerous individuals in their 30s are reportedly assigned a listening age of 23, prompting reflection on their music consumption habits.