Playlist in a Bottle: How to unlock your Spotify time capsule - and how to make one for next year

There's been plenty of time to dissect your Spotify Wrapped, now it's time to check in on your Playlist in a Bottle.

Following the release of Wrapped, Spotify will allow users to unlock their very own Playlist in a Bottle. Image: Spotify

Looking to treat those in a January slump, Spotify have officially uncorked their Playlist in a Bottle feature - and make a new one for next year.

App users were asked to create their very own musical time capsules in January of last year, with the app looking to lock in certain songs and package them away in a playlist for fans to rediscover what they were listening to 12 months ago. Created as a complement to Spotify Wrapped - which looks back at your year in music - the Playlist in a Bottle instead challenged listeners to instead to predict their year in music.

The genie officially out of the bottle, and the opportunity to create a time capsule for 2025, here's everything you need to know about Spotify’s Playlist in a Bottle.

What is Playlist in a Bottle?

Almost a year ago now, Spotify asked listeners to reflect on their mood and capture their top songs of the moment with Playlist in a Bottle.

An interactive Spotify element along the lines of Spotify Wrapped, the experience allowed dedicated users to take a snapshot of what they were listening to in order to revisit it a year later.

You can share your 2023 Spotify Wrapped with friends. Image: Spotify

With the creation of the playlist available only until the end of January, listeners are asked to select a vessel for their time capsule – be it a bottle, bin, flip phone or snow globe – to host their very own musical time capsule and answer a series of prompts.

How to see your Spotify Playlist in a Bottle 2024

Those who created a Playlist in a Bottle in 2023 can now listen to their musical creations, before making a fresh one for 2025.

With prompts such as "pick a song you need to hear live in 2023" or "a song which reminds you of your favourite person" there have been some unexpected memories popping up for those in their playlists.

How to find your Spotify Playlist in a Bottle.

Where is my Playlist in a Bottle?

Using a mobile device, visit spotify.com/playlistinabottle.

This will lead you to a screen with two options. To reveal your time capsule, choose "Claim Your Playlist" to see which songs you sealed away.

An interactive experience will then appear prompting you to click on each album cover to reveal why you selected each song.

How to make a Playlist in a Bottle

Now for those who have finished their trip down memory lane - or are looking to get involved for the first time - here's how to make your musical time capsule with Spotify for 2025.

1. Again, visit spotify.com/playlistinabottle on your mobile device.
2. Select "Create One For Next Year" to make a new Playlist in a Bottle, then select the item you would like to host it from options including an actual bottle, a tiny bird’s nest, a rice cooker, or a flip phone.
3. Complete a series of song-inspired prompts like “a song that reminds you of your favourite person,” or a “a song you would show an alien" and leave a note for your future self.
4. Last, “seal” your musical time capsule.

Your playlist will then be locked away, waiting for 2025.