Apple Music’s ‘Replay’ Feature Offers Deeper Dive into Listening Habits

Apple Music is giving its users a detailed recap of their listening year with the return of its ‘Replay’ feature. More than just a year-end playlist, ‘Replay’ now offers a more nuanced understanding of how people discover, enjoy, and connect with music throughout the year.

The feature, accessible directly from the Apple Music homepage, highlights key listening trends, including new artists discovered, consistently favored artists, and songs that have made a comeback into regular rotation. Users can also see total listening time, the number of artists explored, and their favorite genres.

“Music is deeply personal, and ‘Replay’ is designed to reflect that,” says a statement from Apple. “It’s about celebrating the individual journey each listener takes through sound.”

New Tools for Artists

Beyond the user experience, Apple Music is also providing artists with expanded data insights. These new metrics include growth in listeners, year-over-year performance summaries, and detailed breakdowns of listener demographics – including countries, cities, and minutes listened. Crucially, artists can now see how their music is performing on Shazam and Apple Music radio.

This data-driven approach is intended to empower artists and their teams with a clearer understanding of their global impact. The ability to track Shazam identifications, for example, provides valuable insight into organic discovery and real-world engagement.

Global Music Trends of 2025

As the year draws to a close, Apple Music is also compiling its annual charts. While a diverse range of artists saw success in 2025, ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ collaboration, “APT,” topped the Top Songs of 2025: Global chart, also dominating the Top 100: Shazam, Top 100: Global Radio, and Top 100: Lyrical rankings.

Emerging artists also made their mark. Gracie Abrams and Alex Warren both debuted on the year-end charts with their hits “That’s So True” and “Ordinary,” respectively, signaling a shift in listener preferences and the power of new voices in the music landscape.

Apple Music also offers a monthly ‘Replay’ feature, providing ongoing insights into listening habits throughout the year. All ‘Replay’ data is accessible through a dedicated section within the Apple Music app.

The increasing sophistication of these personalized music experiences reflects a broader trend in the streaming industry, where data analytics are playing an increasingly important role in shaping both listener engagement and artist strategy. With over 78 million subscribers worldwide (as of 2023), Apple Music’s insights offer a significant snapshot of global music consumption.