
Surely you thought about the question before: Why do we listen to music? Often, the answer is because we like it, it makes uf feel good. But why exactly is that? In 2001, the Neurologists Anne Blood and Robert Zatorre from McGill University in Montreal, asked the same question.

Listening to music triggers our brains to produce a substance called dopamine, a so-called "happiness hormone". Why exactly music works in this way is still unknown, but there are a lot of theories. For one, we tend to process emotions with music. When listening to music, our brains produce a small amount of dopamine for us to work with. And because we crave dopamine, we continue listening!

One example for conveying emotions in media is the tragic movie scene: Sentimental music plays, making us feel sad, even though we know it's not quite real. The intensity of your reaction depends on your taste in music, not everyone reacts the same way.

Another theory revolves around pleasure: Take food, as an example. We love the feeling connected to it, the satisfaction, which then fulfills the craving we had for it initially. Thus, we treat ourselves with specific snacks and meals to obtain this feeling.

When it comes to music, we behave quite similarly. We love the feeling music invokes, and we treat ourselves by listening to it.

In the end, maybe the reason why we love music is not that important, after all. It satisfies us, helps us, or is just relaxing. The only important thing is that is stays this way.


Why we love music


2020 has been over for a couple of months now, and it has been a year full of music. Music isn't really bound by time, though, which is why we still think about songs we listened to a month, year, or decade ago.

Getting an overview of the tracks that defined 2020, will help you remember what happened! This is why we collected the top 5 streamed songs on Spotify!

![Dua Lipa](/static/posts/spotify-most-streamed-2020/1-dua-lipa.jpg)

## #5: "Don’t Start Now" by Dua Lipa

With more than 62,840,000 monthly listners, Dua Lipa has built a large crowd of supporters on Spotify. Her song "Don’t Start Now", streamed more than 1.4 billion times to date, is a well-deserved fifth place. This is not her only reached milestone, though: Dua Lipa is the fourth most-streamed artists on Spotify in 2020.

![Roses](/static/posts/spotify-most-streamed-2020/2-roses.jpg)

## #4: "Roses (Imanbek Remix)" by Imanbek & SAINt JHN

On the fourth place we have a remix of a song named "Roses" by SAINt JHN. Released in 2016, the song received a makeover by Imanbek in 2018. Collecting more than 1.2 billion streams, the song might have fewer streams than "Don’t Start Now", but from start to end of 2020, it was streamed more often. With this remix, "Roses (Imanbek Remix)" clearly deserves the fourth place.

![The Box](/static/posts/spotify-most-streamed-2020/3-the-box.jpg)

## #3: "The Box" by Roddy Ricch

With "The Box", Roddy Ricch made himself right at home in the most streamed songs. 1.2 billion streams and still growing, most streams originate in 2020, as the song was released in early 2020, as part of his debut album. With multiple nominations at several music awards, and the winning song in the Apple Music Awards, as "Song of the Year", Roddy Ricch is in the well-deserved third place.

![Dance Monkey](/static/posts/spotify-most-streamed-2020/4-dance-monkey.jpg)

## #2: "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I

Coming to the second place of the most streamed songs on Spotify, we've arrived at "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I. Their second single launched Tones and I to the first places in the charts of 30 countries. And with 2.1 billion streams on Spotify and counting, this is a clear second place!

![Blinding Lights](/static/posts/spotify-most-streamed-2020/5-blinding-lights.jpg)

## #1: "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd

On the first place of the most streamed songs on Spotify in 2020, with no less than 2.1 billion streams, we have "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd. A guaranteed hit, the song received multiple awards, and continues to break records far into 2021. The Weeknd deserves nothing less than the first place for his recent work.


Spotify's Most Streamed Tracks in 2020


While you're outside, you find yourself listening to a song you really enjoy, but spotting anything that could help you find it, the track name, or artist, just doesn't work. But don't worry, we've got the best assistant with us at all times, so let's put it to use!

## Recognizing songs on an Android device

To recognize as song with Google, unlock your phone. Depending on the voice assistant you configured, the process might change slightly.

### Google Assistant

Open the Google app or just say `Okay Google`. This should activate your voice assistant. Now tap the microphone button or repeat `Okay Google`, followed by `What's this song?`. Now Google will listen to the song for a bit. If it doesn't find the song, try moving closer to the origin of the song.

### Bixby

Just replace `Okay Google` by `Hi Bixby` and follow the steps outlined above!

## Recognizing songs on an Apple device

To recognize songs using Siri, you can either say `Hey Siri` or hold the side/home button to launch your voice assistant. Once that's ready, say `What's this song?` and wait for a bit for Siri to listen to what you're listening to. If Siri cannot find your song, try moving closer to the origin of the song.

And you're done! You should be able to find any song just by using your voice assistant, and sharing it with your friends is just one tap away!


Recognizing Music with your Voice Assistant


With over 72m subscribers and growing, Apple Music is one of the leading music streaming services. Providing more than 70m songs, it has even more to offer than Spotify. Collecting your favorite songs using playlists makes it easy to find the right songs at the right time. In this post, we'll explain how you can create Apple Music playlists and add songs to it.

## Creating a Playlist on your phone

To create an Apple Music playlist on your phone, regardless of whether you're on an iPhone or Android device, the first step is to launch the Apple Music application. All steps will remain the same throughout this guide, no matter the operating system.

After opening the application, tap on `Library`, located on the bottom right. In your library, you'll see the last saved albums, songs, and playlists. Tap on `Playlists` to get an overview of your saved or created playlists. Then tap on `New Playlist` and enter a name in the following input.

If you feel like it, you can add an image as a your playlist cover. After entering the details, you can tap `Add music`, where you can search for songs to add by tapping `+` next to each song.

Once you're done, tap `Done`, and your playlist including the songs you added is created.

## Creating a playlist on iPad

To create a playlist on your iPad, once again, you need to open the Apple Music app first. Scroll to the bottom of the sidebar and tap `New Playlist`.

You're asked to set a name for your playlist, and optionally add a cover image. Once you're happy with the look and feel of your playlist, tap on `Add music`.

In the following view, you can search for songs you want to add by tapping on the `+` symbol next to each song. Once you've added enough songs, tap on `Done`.

You can also long tap songs, albums, or playlists and drag them to an existing playlists to integrate them.

## Creating a playlist on a Mac

To create a playlist on your Mac, launch the Apple Music application, head over to your library, for example your songs, and hit `Cmd+N`. This will create a new playlist and ask you to set a name. Once this is created. You can go back to your library and drag and drop songs into the playlist, now visible in your sidebar.

After adding a song from the Apple Music catalog, you'll see a checkmark appear on your playlist overview, which, if activated, will show the playlist on your profile and in searches.

Tip: If you want to share your playlist with your friends, right-click the playlist and copy its link.

## Creating a playlist on your PC

To create a PC, launch the iTunes app. In the menu bar, choose `File`, `New`, then click on `Playlist`.

You're then asked to set a name for your playlist, and optionally supply a cover image. To add music to your playlist drag and drop songs into your playlist in the sidebar.

Tip: Of course you'd like to share your newly-created playlist with your friends. For this you can either right-click your playlist and copy a link to share, or head over to your profile, click `Edit` and select playlists to showcase (or hide).


How do I create an Apple Music Playlist?


With over 150m premium subscribers, Spotify is one of the largest music streaming providers out there. Unfortunately it can be easy to lose track of your favorite songs: Clearly, you need your own playlist, and in this post, we'll explain how to create one and add songs to it!

## Spotify on mobile

To create a playlist on your phone, you need to launch Spotify first. Once that's done, you should be able to see an icon on the bottom right, which looks like a bookshelf and has the label `Library`.

Tap this icon to get an overview of your library. In the `Music` category, you'll have your playlists, artists, and albums. If you're not viewing the `Playlists` tab yet, tap on it. You should now see the `Create playlist` button. Once tapped, you're asked to enter a name for your new playlist. After this is confirmed, you'll have your very own playlist, but it's still empty. To add some songs, you can tap the `Add songs` button to search for your favorite tracks.

If you want to edit your playlists and remove songs, or update the name and description, you can tap the icon containing three dots and select `Edit`.

## Spotify on desktop

To create a playlist on desktop, launch Spotify, then you'll see a button labelled `Create playlist` in the bottom left corner. Once clicked, you're asked to enter a name and optionally a description and image.

To add tracks, you can either scroll down to see recommendations, or use the search function. If you click the search bar on the top of the Spotify application, you can search for songs, artists, or albums you're interested in. To add a song to your newly-created playlist, right-click it and using the `Add to playlist` button, then click on your playlist.

After adding a couple of songs, you can create similar playlists based on the songs you added. To do this, right-click your playlist and click `Create Similar Playlist`. After doing this, you should see a new playlist with a similar name appear in your sidebar.

P.S: To find songs you like quickly, you can use the playlists Spotify created and customized for you. If you like one of the songs provided, you now know how to add it to your own playlist!


How do I create a Spotify playlist?


### 😔 Anti Social Social Media

Using today's social media platforms, you can scroll through near-infinite amounts of content curated by algorithms, but still don't **connect with other people** at the end of the day. Noticing that you just spent hours consuming content that wasn't really meaningful is really frustrating.

Online statuses and read receipts (knowing when your counterpart in chats have read your message and vice-versa) are used to create an artificial sense of urgency that puts reaction over action, playing into the fear of not answering in time, and thus boosting your activity through anxiety.

You might have heard the phrase, "if you're not the customer, you're the product": For their recommendation algorithms, existing platforms set out to collect as much data as possible, by asking you to complete lengthy questionnaires or collecting every single activity or chat message.

### 👋 How to Make Friends Online (Fast)

Making new friends can feel difficult, especially in times of a pandemic. As everything transitioned to online events, the platforms stayed the same. The bigger they have grown, the less personal they started to feel.

Meeting new people and enjoying meaningful and mindful conversations is more difficult than ever, and if we continue the current trajectory of quantity over quality, there is no end in sight.

### 🔥 The Power of Music

Music as a means of social interaction has been around for ages. We love to talk about the artists we listen to or the tracks we're currently vibing to. When you don't know much about the other person, talking about music can be a great ice breaker.

But while the medium of consuming music has changed to mostly streaming, sharing your favorite tracks and artists is still the same experience. Exchanging links with your friends doesn't sound convenient at all.

### 💜 Meet People You'll Vibe With

With sonata, we're creating a community where everyone can feel included, where meaningful conversations are encouraged, and where you can get to know people just like yourself.

We believe that the music you love tells a lot about your personality, we'll use just that to create meaningful matches, without requiring every last bit of your personal data.

Sharing music has also never been easier, when you're vibing to a track, it takes less than two taps to share it with your friends or the world.

To create a more personal profile, you can share the tracks or artists you like, your location, gender identity, and other details, but this is **entirely on your terms**, and we'll never share or sell this data without your consent, period.


Blog

Why we love music

Spotify's Most Streamed Tracks in 2020

Recognizing Music with your Voice Assistant

How do I create an Apple Music Playlist?

How do I create a Spotify playlist?

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