If you’ve ever spent a suspicious amount of time curating the perfect playlist, congratulations — you might be crafting your own digital legacy. Yes, in 2025, the humble playlist is no longer just for breakups or pre-drinks. It’s become a thing — a way to decide how you’ll be remembered long after your last Spotify Wrapped.
Legacy playlists are reportedly up 22 per cent year-on-year, with Gen Z responsible for roughly one third of them, according to Spotify data. (This growth refers to the creation of new legacy playlists). But the question remains: are these playlists actually meaningful, or are they just another notch in our never-ending quest to look cool online? Is this about genuine self-expression, or just another way to subtly flex your taste in front of future digital archaeologists?
What is a legacy playlist?
At its core, a legacy playlist is a digital time capsule: a collection of songs that you hope will outlive your embarrassing Facebook albums and those lockdown era TikToks. It’s a way to say, ‘Hey, this is who I was,’ without having to write a memoir or, god forbid, keep a diary. Some have even taken the trend to a different level, creating playlists for each era of their life.
TikToker Delilah Isabel, who describes a similar concept of “life playlists”, says they allow people to understand you on a deeper level.
“If you listen to this playlist you’ll understand me in a big way because music can capture your spirit in a way that words can’t,” she explained.
But in a world where everything is curated for an audience — the artful Instagram dump, the LinkedIn post with just the right level of bragging, and yes, the Spotify wrapped we all share every single year — can a playlist really be personal? Or is it just another digital touchpoint to amplify your personal brand?
Mike’s Mic on bottling memories (and bangers)
To get a grip on this trend, I spoke to Michael Messineo — aka Mike’s Mic, content creator and Melbourne’s playlist king.
“The thing you need to know about me is I am a Spotify playlist through and through. Like, I can show you the receipt,” Mike told me, before flexing his 23,000-follower-strong Glee playlist.
For Mike, legacy playlists are about bottling memories — good, bad and Glee-related.
“Each of the songs is linked to a specific memory. It doesn’t need to be big huge moments,” he said.
“Although some of those songs are in there — like the song that soundtracked my breakup from last year. But then I’ve also got fun songs associated with my first trip out of the country in 2011 on a trip to Italy with friends from my school So that’s ‘Till the World Ends’ remix with Kesha and Nicki Minaj, of course.”
But he gets the irony, too. “It’s got to be authentic. Even while I was adding songs to mine, sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, maybe people won’t think I’m cool because I’m adding a Glee song.’ So if I put some other song that doesn’t really speak to me, I feel like it’s not authentic. So, I think being authentic is important with that kind of stuff,” Mike admitted.
Personal scrapbook or public flex?
There’s something undeniably sweet about bottling up memories in a playlist. Maybe it’s your first heartbreak, your first trip overseas, or just the song you played on repeat during lockdown. But let’s be real: for every playlist that’s a heartfelt time capsule, there’s another that’s more about the vibe than the memories.
Are we making playlists for ourselves, or for the people who’ll eventually stumble across our profiles? According to Spotify’s data, almost half (48 per cent) say shaping their digital legacy is their top priority, while the same number want to be in control of how people will remember them. In the age of the personal brand, it can be hard to be honest even with ourselves about how we’re showing up online. Maybe your legacy playlist is full of deep cuts and guilty pleasures, or maybe it’s just another way to show off your taste in front of your mates (and, let’s be honest, your ex).
Mike reckons it’s a bit of both. “People in that 18 to 25 range have grown up with the internet. So they’re growing up knowing that how they present themselves online is part of their identity. By making these legacy playlists and saying this playlist is important to me and sharing it with people, it’s sort of like showing part of themselves,” he said.
“It’s like what people do on social media, TikTok, Instagram — when you’re posting, it’s part of your image. This is part of it too.”
How to create your own legacy playlist?
If you do feel like creating a legacy playlist Mike’s got tips:
Curate the vibe
“You need to curate the vibe. It’s like giving yourself instructions. You’re basically like going through and saying, ‘Are you picking songs from a specific period of your life, or are these songs supposed to be across your entire life, or is it things you like now?’” he said.
He added that it was “like a little time capsule that I’m going to enjoy in 20, 30 years”, which is making me question every song I’ve ever added to my Favourites folder.
Honour the random bops
“If you’re shopping and suddenly a song pops into your head that’s not from the last five years, she’s there for a reason. Consider her for the Spotify legacy playlist,” Mike advised, proving that even your most rogue musical memories deserve a spot in the digital time capsule.
Phone a friend (or a frenemy)
“Talk to your friends from five, ten years ago and think about your experiences with them and if there’s any songs tied to it. Like in my one, the song from my 2011 Italian tour is in there. The song from when I went to Japan with my cousins in 2020 is in there,” Mike said. It seems like a much cuter way to remember your mates than scrolling through old group chats.
So, are legacy playlists actually meaningful?
Maybe. Maybe not. The beauty (and curse) of the digital age is that we get to decide what’s meaningful. A legacy playlist might be a love letter to your past self, or it might just be another way to curate your image for the world to see. Either way, it’s a snapshot of who you are, or who you want to be remembered as.
And if future generations find your playlist and think, ‘Wow, this person really loved Glee‘, at least you’ll have left your mark — awkward bops and all.
Lead image: Supplied / TikTok
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