Spotify is celebrating a milestone anniversary this week that marks 20 years since the music platform was founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon — and what a time it’s been.
I say that in the best way possible because, if it weren’t for its highest highs, lowest lows, and unforgettable viral moments, how else would the best music streaming service keep you locked in? From its endless product launches to industry tensions, Spotify’s history of technological innovations and cultural drama is so rich that not even Pop Crave could keep up.
To commemorate Spotify’s anniversary, I’ve looked back over the past 20 years and compiled five of what I think are the most memorable, defining moments from Spotify’s journey so far. And yes, one of them involves Taylor Swift.
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Spotify Wrapped
Much of Spotify’s viral success can be attributed to its annual music roundup, Spotify Wrapped, which keeps subscribers on the edge of their seats all year round, patiently waiting to see which artists and songs defined their year in music. Its rivals have hopped on this trend with their own versions, but none have the same effect as Wrapped.
Every year, it offers something different, like the SoundTown feature from Wrapped 2023 or Listening Age from Wrapped 2025. It’s chameleonic in all its glory, which is the key to keeping us guessing, but it always reveals something new about your listening taste and personality that you may not have known before.
That aside, it has introduced a new snapshot way of sharing our tastes and listening habits with friends beyond playlists. It’s not just a unique in-app experience, it’s a global event.
Launch of Lossless
Spotify was late to the Hi-Fi audio game compared to Apple Music, and it had been promising lossless audio since 2021. The nearly five-year wait for Spotify Lossless finally ended in September 2025, and Premium users finally got their Hi-Fi fix. More recently, Spotify unveiled its new Listening Lounge, a space to really show off Lossless’ capabilities.
Taylor Swift’s dramatic Spotify exit and comeback
As Spotify grew in popularity, it gave artists a new way to put out music and connect with fans, impacting marketing and promotional strategies significantly, so it was only a matter of time before tensions in the relationships with industry moguls rose to the surface — and who can forget Taylor Swift’s 2014 Spotify exit.
To protest the unfairness of artist pay (still a heated discussion topic today), Swift pulled her entire catalog from Spotify and other platforms, resulting in a three-year absence from one of the biggest pop artists of the time and a global conversation about the impact streaming services were having on income.
Swift returned unexpectedly in 2017, restoring all of her music just in time for the release of her sixth studio album Reputation.
Expansion beyond music streaming
Music streaming was just the beginning for Spotify, and after building a strong global platform for easy music access, it needed to take things further. Enter podcasts.
2015 marked a big shift in Spotify’s offerings when it kick-started its podcast ecosystem, and now it’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, platforms for podcast streaming as well as music listening. Additionally, this led to the inclusion of audiobooks, another offering that Spotify is always developing with new tools like Page Match.
Discover Weekly launches a global thirst for new music finds
When Spotify released Discover Weekly in 2015, it marked the start of the company’s journey towards developing an algorithm built with music discovery at the center.
Since the launch of Discover Weekly, Spotify has rolled out a slew of tools and features for optimizing new music discovery based on the genres, artists, and songs you’re already enjoying.
My personal favorite is Daylists, but Prompted Playlists, Release Radar, and Spotify’s countless editorial playlists have also proven to be successful in helping subscribers branch out to new artists.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
