Ep. 9: Spotify is HOW Old?!
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy 20th birthday dear… Spotify??
Reeling from the fact that Spotify has been around since 2006, Matti goes down a music memory lane—from CDs and iTunes, to Pandora, and now Spotify running everything. Because music isn’t just something we listen to—it’s how we remember parts of our lives.
Check out Spotify's top 20 lists: https://www.today.com/popculture/music/spotify-most-streamed-songs-artists-albums-all-time-rcna341267
TRANSCRIPT
Yes, we are celebrating the birthday of our beloved Spotify today. And we’re gonna go down a little music journey—maybe a music rabbit hole, if you will. Spotify started in 2006, which got me looking back at how we used to listen to music, how far we’ve come, and how one platform completely changed the way we discover, share, and experience music.
From CDs to Streaming
It’s hard to believe now, but when Spotify launched in 2006, streaming wasn’t the default way people listened to music.
Back then, CDs were still a major part of everyday life. Portable CD players, boom boxes, and shelves filled with albums were completely normal. At the same time, iTunes was becoming increasingly popular, giving people the ability to purchase individual songs for 99 cents each.
Spotify started in Sweden and spent several years expanding internationally. It didn’t arrive in the United States until 2011, and even then it looked very different than the platform we know today.
Fast forward twenty years, and Spotify has more than 700 million users globally, nearly 300 million paying subscribers, and over 100 million songs available on its platform.
At some point, Spotify stopped feeling like a music app and simply became how people listen to music.
My Music Journey
Thinking about Spotify’s birthday sent me down a nostalgia rabbit hole of my own.
I still remember buying my first two CDs. They weren’t cool albums from popular artists. They were soundtracks.
The first was the Annie soundtrack. The second was The Parent Trap soundtrack.
I vividly remember bringing them home and listening with my parents. What stood out wasn’t even the music itself—it was how much better CDs sounded compared to cassette tapes. At the time, it felt like a huge technological leap.
As the 2000s continued, music became increasingly digital. CDs were uploaded into iTunes libraries, iPods became essential accessories, and many of us started buying individual songs instead of entire albums.
I fully embraced that era. At one point, I had purchased more than a thousand songs through iTunes. Looking back, that’s a lot of 99-cent downloads.
The Pandora Years
Before Spotify became a household name, there was Pandora.
I was introduced to Pandora around 2010 and initially resisted it. I liked owning my music. I liked having complete control over what I listened to.
Eventually, though, Pandora won me over. The idea of instantly accessing music without purchasing every individual song felt revolutionary.
What surprised me most while preparing for this episode was realizing just how long I stayed with Pandora. While millions of people were moving to Spotify, I held on to Pandora for years longer than most.
Why I Avoided Spotify
I actually created a Spotify account when it first launched in the United States.
Then I immediately deleted it.
At the time, Spotify wanted to connect with my existing music library, and that felt invasive to me. Today we barely think twice about apps sharing information with each other, but back then it seemed strange.
So I walked away.
And I didn’t come back until 2024.
The Feature That Finally Won Me Over
The thing that finally convinced me to switch was Spotify’s AI DJ.
I was riding in an Uber when the driver started using it. The AI host introduced songs, switched genres, and created the feeling of listening to a personalized radio station.
I thought it was incredibly cool.
After discovering a service that could transfer all of my Pandora playlists to Spotify, the transition was easy. Within a short time, my entire music history had moved with me.
Now I can’t imagine going back.
Spotify’s Most Streamed Songs
To celebrate its anniversary, Spotify released lists highlighting its most-streamed songs and artists of all time.
The top five songs were:
Blinding Lights — The Weeknd
Shape of You — Ed Sheeran
Sweater Weather — The Neighbourhood
Starboy — The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
As It Was — Harry Styles
A few of those surprised me. If someone had asked me to predict Spotify’s all-time top songs, I’m not sure I would have guessed that list.
Still, it serves as a fascinating snapshot of the streaming era and how listening habits have changed since Spotify’s launch.
Spotify’s Most Streamed Artists
The platform also revealed its most-streamed artists of all time.
The top five were:
Taylor Swift
Bad Bunny
Drake
The Weeknd
Ariana Grande
While some of those names felt expected, seeing them together on one list highlights just how much streaming has reshaped the music industry.
Today’s biggest artists aren’t competing for radio play alone. They’re competing for playlist placement, algorithm recommendations, and billions of streams.
How We Discover Music Today
Perhaps the biggest change isn’t how we listen to music—it’s how we discover it.
In the CD era, discovery was active. You heard a song on the radio, borrowed an album from a friend, or took a chance on a CD because you liked a single track.
Today, discovery is largely passive.
Algorithms recommend songs. Social media introduces us to artists. Record labels test music on platforms like Instagram and TikTok before songs are even officially released.
Just recently, I discovered a new song while scrolling social media, used Shazam to identify it, and added it to Spotify within minutes.
That entire process would have been unimaginable twenty years ago.
From Ownership to Access
When I look back at the last two decades of music, the biggest shift might be that we’ve moved from ownership to access.
We used to buy albums, CDs, and downloads.
Today, we subscribe.
Instead of owning a collection, we pay for access to virtually every song we could ever want. And increasingly, platforms like Spotify aren’t just about music anymore. They’re becoming complete audio ecosystems that include podcasts, audiobooks, AI-powered recommendations, and personalized listening experiences.
The way we consume audio has fundamentally changed.
Final Thoughts
Music has evolved dramatically over the last twenty years.
We’ve moved from CDs to downloads, from downloads to streaming, and from manually building libraries to AI-curated playlists. Along the way, Spotify transformed from a startup in Sweden into one of the most influential platforms in entertainment.
But despite all the technological changes, one thing remains the same: music still has the power to connect us to memories, emotions, and each other.
So happy birthday, Spotify.
And honestly, whether it’s five years, twenty years, fifty years, or even a hundred—as long as we’ve got music, it’s gonna be fine.
This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.
