Is it too early to start thinking about festive music? Spotify says no
Holiday listening is already picking up on Spotify, giving independent artists and labels a reason to start planning their festive releases now.
It might only be October, but Spotify listeners are already getting into the festive spirit.
According to Spotify, holiday-themed music is currently being streamed 36.2 million times a day, with users creating more than 100,000 holiday playlists in September alone. So, it’s safe to say that the platform’s 2026 holiday season has officially begun.
For artists thinking about releasing a festive original, Christmas cover or seasonal project this year, that makes now a pretty good time to start planning.
Holiday listening is already underway
Spotify’s numbers suggest that December isn’t the only time listeners are looking for Christmas music. In fact, holiday listening tends to ramp up around the globe on average around October 30, but some markets get there considerably earlier.
Spotify says listeners in Barbados can start increasing their festive listening as early as October 1, alongside early-season activity in Liechtenstein, Denmark and Iceland.
The Philippines is particularly keen on starting early too. In September, holiday music accounted for 1.3% of all Spotify streams in the country, more than twice the share recorded in the next-highest market, Colombia. The Philippines has also generated the most holiday-related Spotify searches so far this year, followed by the US, UK, Indonesia and Germany.
And this isn’t just a catalogue dominated by decades-old Christmas classics. The Bleachers’ 2024 track ‘Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call’ is the most-streamed holiday track of the year so far, ahead of Alex Crichton’s ‘Merry Christmas, i miss you’, Sia’s ‘Snowman’, Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’.
That’s a useful reminder that there is still room for newer festive music alongside the songs that return to playlists every year.
Why artists should start planning festive releases now
If you’re an artist considering a Christmas cover or original festive song, leaving everything until December could mean missing part of the listening window.
Spotify’s data shows that there’s an appetite for holiday listening from early autumn, before becoming increasingly dominant in November. That gives artists a longer period in which their music can be discovered, added to seasonal playlists and shared by listeners.
And if you’re distributing your music with RouteNote, planning ahead gives enough time for your release to go through moderation, particularly if any additional checks are needed. That way your festive tracks will be ready to hit streaming platforms before the festive listening peaks.
But, it also gives you time to do more than simply release the track. You can prepare artwork, social content, short-form videos and other promotional ideas around the release, rather than trying to put everything together once December is already here.
For independent artists and labels, that extra preparation time can be particularly valuable. A festive release gives you another opportunity to introduce your music to people who may not have discovered you through your usual genre or catalogue.
A festive cover can put your own spin on a classic
Christmas covers are one way to tap into this seasonal listening without starting completely from scratch. Familiar festive classics already have an audience. Putting your own-spin on a well-known festive favourite can give listeners a reason to stop and listen while also showing off your sound as an artist.
That could mean stripping a classic back to an acoustic performance, turning a traditional carol into something electronic, or completely reworking a familiar pop song around your own style.
Spotify is doing much the same with its Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection, which gives artists the opportunity to reinterpret established seasonal songs. Its 2025 collection included artists such as Poppy, Fall Out Boy and Ravyn Lenae putting their own styles on festive favourites.
So, is it too early?
Probably not. With 36.2 million holiday streams happening on Spotify every day already, the festive listening window is clearly opening earlier than you’d think.
For artists, that means there’s value in thinking beyond the traditional December release date. If you want to put out a festive cover or original this year, start planning the recording, artwork, distribution and promotion now so your music is ready while listeners are already searching for it.
With RouteNote, you can distribute your festive releases to Spotify and other major streaming platforms worldwide for free.
The Christmas rush might still be a few months away, but for artists, the time to start planning is now.