A Map of Spotify’s Sound Towns

Abby Jones
·4 min read

The post A Map of Spotify’s Sound Towns appeared first on Consequence.

The 2023 Spotify Wrapped officially dropped on Wednesday, November 29th. Even if you haven’t had a chance to parse through your friends’ Instagram stories yet, you already know the deal: Folks whining that their carefully-curated “eclectic” tastes aren’t accurately represented, Swifties bowing to the feigned exclusivity of being in Taylor’s top 0.01% of fans, and — wait, why the hell is everybody talking about Burlington, Vermont?

In rolling out its eighth annual iteration, Spotify Wrapped introduced something new: Your “Sound Town,” or, the city Spotify’s artificial intelligence assigns you based on your listening habits and which demographic would hypothetically align with them. You thought you were primed for Brooklyn just because you enjoy bands signed to Saddle Creek? Nope — on Spotify’s terms, you and your canvas tote bags should pack up and head for Vermont’s most populous city. (Consider this writer humbled.)

Is Spotify urging us to join communes? Are municipal governments sliding Daniel Ek hefty checks under the table? Is AI more of a threat now than ever? Who cares?! It’s fun! Below, we’ve abandoned all suspicions and tried to figure out just what’s going on in these so-called “Sound Towns.”

Burlington, Vermont

The hometown of Phish and Ben & Jerry’s is now, evidently, a haven for sapphic women. You likely found solace — or, emotional suffering — in the music of boygenius. You come from an upper-middle class family, but that’s only evident to those who know how much your Blundstones cost. Most of your listening minutes were accrued in a Subaru.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is the sister to Burlington with more of a pop slant. You listen to Charli XCX when you’re happy and Ethel Cain when you’re sad, and you pitched a group Barbie Halloween costume to your group chat.

Berkeley, California

“I don’t hate men; I hate the patriarchy,” you tell yourself as you flip your Lana Del Rey LP to side B and resume Tinder swiping.

Madison, Wisconsin

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Madison seems to be for the folks who’ve ever had a deep Bon Iver phase, know how to pitch a tent, or are really into craft beers. And if you think those digs are outdated, then your music taste might be, too.

Santa Cruz, California

You’re either old enough to have been Tumblr famous, or you’re young enough to be excited about the next Heaven by Marc Jacobs collection. You’ve claimed that My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless changed your life, and you likely have impending tinnitus because of it.

Davis, California

Spotify associating all K-pop listeners with Davis probably has nothing to do with the fact that the city’s population is nearly a quarter Asian.

San Luis Obispo, California

Don’t worry, hip-hop fans, Spotify didn’t forget about you. They’re just figuring out the transportation and accommodations before sending you all off to San Luis Obispo, where you can listen to the latest Lil Yachty record in peace.

Wait, I’m lost…

Luckily for you, we have an in-depth round-up of everything you need to know about Spotify Wrapped here, including listening statistics from around the globe. Let’s do this again next year, eh?

A Map of Spotify’s Sound Towns
Abby Jones

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