Spotify Wrapped 2024 is here, and Taylor Swift is once again the platform's most-streamed artist

NEW YORK (AP) — 'Tis the season to unpack Spotify Wrapped. And it should come as no surprise that for a second year in a row, Taylor Swift has been named its most-played artist.

On Wednesday, the streaming giant unveiled its annual overview of individual listening trends as well as trends from around the world. Users can now access their top artists, songs, genres, albums and podcasts, as well as uncover which artists had the biggest year on the platform.

Swift was 2024’s most-streamed artist globally, ranking in more than 26.6 billion streams. She's followed by The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake and Billie Eilish, in that order.

In the U.S., the list looks similar: It's Swift in the top spot, followed by Drake, Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen and Kanye West.

Last year, Swift dethroned Puerto Rican reggaetón star Bad Bunny for the top spot, globally. He held the coveted title for three years in a row beginning in 2020.

Swift also earned the title of most-streamed album in 2024, with “The Tortured Poets Department.” She's followed by Eilish's “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” Sabrina Carpenter's “Short n' Sweet," Karol G's “Mañana Será Bonito” and Ariana Grande's “eternal sunshine.”

All of those titles are new to 2024 with the exception of Karol G's album, which released early last year.

In the U.S., there are only slight differences: Swift's album still leads, followed by Wallen's “One Thing At A Time” — released last year. Then it's Carpenter, Noah Kahan's “Stick Season,” and Chappell Roan's “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” also released in 2023.

Carpenter leads the most-streamed songs both in the U.S. and globally this year, with her summertime smash “Espresso.” It earned over 1.6 billion streams.

Globally, she's followed by Benson Boone's “Beautiful Things,” Eilish's “Birds of a Feather,” FloyyMenor and Cris MJ's “Gata Only” and Teddy Swims' “Lose Control.”

And in the U.S., she's trailed by Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us,” Shaboozey's “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's “I Had Some Help” and Tommy Richman's “Million Dollar Baby.”

This year, there are a few new features on Spotify Wrapped. Those include a new data story called “Your Music Evolution,” documenting three distinct musical phases for each user, and a personalized playlist. The individualized "Your Top Artist" feature has changed slightly, too, and now includes “Longest Listening Streak" as well as the familiar “Top Listeners.”

On social media, some Spotify users complained that Wrapped, which undergoes design changes every year, was minimalist this year, missing previous features like “Top Cities,” “Audio Auras” and “Top Genres.” The new “Your Music Evolution” feature, however, provides users with individual, created micro-genres for some months of listening.

A representative for Spotify did not provide a statement.

That the biggest artists, globally, earned top spots on Spotify Wrapped should come as no surprise — they’re featured prominently across the streaming service, including on its highly influential playlists, in addition to boasting loyal, dedicated fanbases. For independent artists who may appear on an individual listener’s Wrapped, accessing a top spot on the global list would require billions of streams.

Streaming now accounts for most of the money generated by the music industry — a whopping 84% in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, and 67.3% worldwide, according to a 2024 report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which tracks global sales.

Spotify is the largest platform of all — making up roughly 31% of the total market share — with a reported 626 million users and 246 million subscribers in over 180 markets.

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour on Friday, June 21, 2024 in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Players must be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female before going through male puberty to compete in LPGA tournaments or the eight USGA championships for females under new gender policies published Wednesday.

The policies, which begin in 2025, follow more than a year of study involving medicine, science, sport physiology and gender policy law.

The updated policies would rule out eligibility for Hailey Davidson, who missed qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open this year by one shot and came up short in LPGA Q-school.

Davidson, who turned 32 on Tuesday, began hormone treatments when she was in her early 20s in 2015 and in 2021 underwent gender-affirming surgery, which was required under the LPGA's previous gender policy. She had won this year on a Florida mini-tour called NXXT Golf until the circuit announced in March that players had to be assigned female at birth.

“Can't say I didn't see this coming,” Davidson wrote Wednesday on an Instagram story. “Banned from the Epson and the LPGA. All the silence and people wanting to stay ‘neutral’ thanks for absolutely nothing. This happened because of all your silence.”

By making it to the second stage of Q-school, Davidson would have had very limited status on the Epson Tour, the pathway to the LPGA.

The LPGA and USGA say their policies were geared toward being inclusive of gender identities and expression while striving for equity in competition.

The LPGA said its working group of experts advised that the effects of male puberty allowed for competitive advantages in golf compared with players who had not gone through puberty.

“Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, who announced Monday that she is resigning in January. "The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.”

Mike Whan, the former LPGA commissioner and now CEO of the USGA, said it developed the updated policy independently and later discovered it was similar to those used by swimming, track and field, and other sports.

“It starts with competitive fairness as the North star,” Whan said in a telephone interview. “We tried not to get into politics, or state by state or any of that stuff. We just simply said, ‘Where would somebody — at least medically today — where do we believe somebody would have a competitive advantage in the field?’ And we needed to draw a line.

“We needed to be able to walk into any women's event and say with confidence that nobody here has a competitive advantage based on their gender. And this policy delivers that.”

The “Competitive Fairness Gender Policy” for the USGA takes effect for the 2025 championship season that starts with the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball on May 10-14. Qualifying began late this year, though there were no transgender players who took part.

“Will that change in the years to come as medicine changes? Probably,” Whan said. “But I think today this stacks up.”

The LPGA “Gender Policy for Competition Eligibility” would apply to the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour and qualifying for the tours.

Players assigned male at birth must prove they have not experienced any part of puberty beyond the first stage or after age 12, whichever comes first, and then meet limitation standards for testosterone levels.

The LPGA begins its 75th season on Jan. 30 with the Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

FILE - LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan speaks to the gallery after the final round of the LPGA Ford Championship golf tournament Sunday, March 31, 2024, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)