Music listeners value different things when it comes to how they consume music. Some people prefer to stick with old favorites, others prefer to explore new sounds every now and then. Personally, it’s a blend of the best of both worlds. The advent of digital streaming platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, Youtube Music and the likes has changed the way we listen to music. Sure, the major similarity between all DSPs is that we have access to basically every song that’s uploaded on the platform. However, the difference is in how people interact with the software and how this software helps us interact with others. As such these DSPs, through the use of human technique and artificial intelligence, are able to curate unique listening experiences for their users in line with their company’s mode of operations.

By extension, Nigeria and Africa have benefitted from these platforms’ recent concentrated efforts to create and curate Afro-centric content. This has helped to spotlight the uniqueness of our sound in its truest form as well as create a sense of community in the Afrobeats space. While Apple Music charts have become the metric for song performance and popularity, Spotify’s approach is more user-centric and interactive, making the music feel like more than waves of sound.

Making the switch from Apple Music to Spotify was not easy, particularly because I lost immediate access to all my old favorites. But Spotify helped me discover new ones. The algorithm makes it easy to find music related to what you like through its song radio. Curating personal playlists is more fun because I can collaborate with my friends to create them. And of course, the Blend feature, which creates playlists by merging the music tastes of you and your friends.

Spotify’s brand has evolved into something uniquely social. On one hand, they promote the discovery of new sounds. On the other hand, they took the fact that music is best enjoyed with other people and turned it into their selling point. So, it is only right that their efforts to penetrate the Nigerian and African spaces were crowned by two fun events hosted in the last quarter of 2022.

To commemorate the roll-out of their annual yearly round-up, Spotify hosted the  2022 Wrapped  Party at The Hall, Victoria Island, Lagos. The entrance was decorated with boards that had “#SpotifyWrappedParty” in different colours. The venue was designed to look and feel like a club with different colours of light and a bubbling ambiance. With mirrors on each side of the room, you could get transfixed watching yourself or your friends dance to the tunes delivered by DJ Spinall. The people came dressed for the occasion, clad in clothes that best represent their personality and the vibe of the evening.

For what it’s worth, Spotify is making itself more than just a regular DSP. From immersive listening experiences to events that excite your senses, they make each person feel personally catered to. A user-centric approach is what keeps people hooked to your platform. It would be interesting to see what new tricks they have up their sleeve this year.