Pop Culture Pulse Dec 2026: Spotify Wrapped, Letterboxd’s Video Store & 3D Immersive Sport Replays
Published 12 December 2025
Our Pop Culture Pulse is a monthly download of the buzziest cultural developments, emerging fandoms and audience trends. This month, we’re unpacking why Spotify Wrapped won praise for prioritising creative, personalised storytelling over generative AI; how Letterboxd is bringing curated film rentals to its platform and app; and why 3D video is set to transform live sports highlights and replays.
Music & Sound: Spotify Wrapped Wins by Putting AI Backstage
Entertainment: Letterboxd’s ‘Video Store’ Bridges Film Discovery, Curation & Consumption
Entertainment: Arcturus Reinvents Live Sports Replays with Volumetric 3D Video
After facing heavy criticism last year for a Wrapped (its year-in-review personalised feature) prioritising AI-generated content, Spotify’s 2025 edition has impressed with a host of new interactive, insightful features. Amid rising audience unease about AI-made entertainment, Spotify has employed AI to organise data backstage, but foregrounded features that encourage peer-to-peer connection and sharable talking-points.
After facing heavy criticism last year for a Wrapped (its year-in-review personalised feature) prioritising AI-generated content, Spotify’s 2025 edition has impressed with a host of new interactive, insightful features. Amid rising audience unease about AI-made entertainment, Spotify has employed AI to organise data backstage, but foregrounded features that encourage peer-to-peer connection and sharable talking-points.
Over half (51%) of US and UK audiences say it is getting harder to find shows or movies they want to watch due to an abundance of streaming services (Gracenote, 2025). Assuaging this frustration, US film review platform Letterboxd has unveiled its ‘Video Store’ feature – a video-on-demand (VoD) curated service built directly into its app and website.
US volumetric-video start-up Arcturus is set to create ‘3D reconstructions’ of live sports matches, allowing viewers at home to replay action from every angle. With sports fans demanding more dynamic ways to view games away from stadiums, Arcturus has set its sights on turning highlight reels and replays immersive.
Pop Culture Pulse Dec 2026: Spotify Wrapped, Letterboxd’s Video Store & 3D Immersive Sport Replays
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Pop Culture Pulse Dec 2026: Spotify Wrapped, Letterboxd’s Video Store & 3D Immersive Sport Replays
Our Pop Culture Pulse is a monthly download of the buzziest cultural developments, emerging fandoms and audience trends. This month, we’re unpacking why Spotify Wrapped won praise for prioritising creative, personalised storytelling over generative AI; how Letterboxd is bringing curated film rentals to its platform and...