{"id":108829,"date":"2026-10-05T10:34:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T09:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=108829"},"modified":"2026-10-05T10:34:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T09:34:50","slug":"spotify-holiday-listening-2026-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/spotify-holiday-listening-2026-artists\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it too early to start thinking about festive music? Spotify says no"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Holiday listening is already picking up on Spotify, giving independent artists and labels a reason to start planning their festive releases now.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It might only be October, but Spotify<\/a> listeners are already getting into the festive spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Spotify<\/a>, 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\u2019s safe to say that the platform\u2019s 2026 holiday season has officially begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Holiday listening is already underway<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Spotify\u2019s numbers suggest that December isn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this isn\u2019t just a catalogue dominated by decades-old Christmas classics. The Bleachers\u2019 2024 track \u2018Merry Christmas, Please Don\u2019t Call\u2019 is the most-streamed holiday track of the year so far, ahead of Alex Crichton\u2019s \u2018Merry Christmas, i miss you\u2019, Sia\u2019s \u2018Snowman\u2019, Wham!\u2019s \u2018Last Christmas\u2019 and Mariah Carey\u2019s \u2018All I Want For Christmas Is You\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a useful reminder that there is still room for newer festive music alongside the songs that return to playlists every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Is Christmas music arriving earlier every year?<\/a><\/blockquote>