Earlier this week, this blog published all about Traxsource’s 2021 In Review. I offered up a defence of the platform for carrying out this annual tradition. And one thing I forgot to include in that write-up was the fact Traxsource do at least contribute to the culture which they make their profits from.

So as Spotify releases its annual Spotify Wrapped for the year – which basically tell you how many streams you’ve had this year, how many countries are people listening in and so forth – you might imagine that I would adopt a similar shield of armour for Daniel Ek’s platform, right?

Well, if you do, you’re clearly new to this blog. Because there are few things I hate more in this world than Spotify. They contribute literally nothing to the culture which makes them huge amounts of money – yet somehow still not enough for them to turn a profit once in their 15 years of existence. 30% of every single stream goes into their coffers – which adds up when you have billions of them.

In any case, Traxsource’s statistics do at least mean something. The fact you had a genre number one, for example, might mean you only sold 75 copies, but this is quantifiable in at least some form. Spotify Wrapped isn’t. How many of those people streaming are signing up as fans? How long are they listening to each song, and to how many songs?

Without this information, what appears in their little badges is almost meaningless. But the final word on this matter has to be left to The Secret DJ. Replying to a follower’s tweet, he simply said this…

it's a bit like pass the parcel but in the middle the present is a big jobbie

— The Secret DJ. (@SecretDJBook) December 1, 2021

Indeed…