Alleged Spotify Listening Habits of Prominent Figures Circulate on Website
A website, Panama Playlists, is currently generating attention by purporting to have published the Spotify listening habits of members of the Trump administration, tech leaders, and journalists. The site claims to have been scraping their accounts since summer 2024, encompassing playlists, live listening feeds, and all related data. It alleges, "We know what songs they played, when, and how many times. With a little sleuthing, I could say with near - certainty: Yep, this is them."
Verification of Accounts
As of now, it is difficult to determine the authenticity of all the accounts. WIRED has not independently verified the listed accounts. However, reporter Mike Isaac from The New York Times informed WIRED that the songs listed on the website under his name align with his actual Spotify listening history. Additionally, five Spotify listeners from the website confirmed to The Verge the accuracy of their posted data.
Public Figures' Playlists
JD Vance: Vance's potential cooking playlist, previously reported, features Justin Bieber's "One Time" and the Backstreet Boys’ "I Want It That Way" in rotation.
Pam Bondi: The Panama Playlists assert that US attorney general Pam Bondi enjoys Nelly's "Hot in Herre" and Foreigner’s "Cold as Ice" (the latter being humorously associated with the administration’s immigration policy).
Ron DeSantis: Allegedly, Florida governor Ron DeSantis streams Miley Cyrus’ "Party in the USA".
Karoline Leavitt: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt seemingly enjoys Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" (with a side - note about the broader desires of some women).
Jacob Helberg: The nominee for US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy, and the environment, Jacob Helberg, appears to have listened to Charli XCX’s “Apple” over 50 times in the past year. If the lists are accurate, he could soon be the Trump administration member most associated with gay - pop music, with Chappell Roan’s “Femininomenon” and Addison Rae’s “Diet Pepsi” also featuring prominently among his most - listened songs.
Tech Leaders' Playlists
Sam Altman: The public Spotify account seemingly linked to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, which follows playlists from one of his longtime friends, contains multiple Shazam playlists. Tracks include Dixon Dallas’ “Good Lookin’” (a gay parody of country music), Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On” (ironic considering its repetitive lyrics), “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People, “Liability” by Lorde, “The A Team” by Ed Sheeran, “Fly” by Nicki Minaj, and “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele.
Palmer Luckey: Palmer Luckey, co - founder of defense company Anduril and a controversial Silicon Valley figure, confirmed on X that he curated a number of mid - 2000s hits for his “Best Music Ever” list created about a decade ago. These include Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” Hilary Duff’s “So Yesterday,” and Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi”.
Alexandr Wang: The Panama Playlists claim that newly appointed Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang listened to “Stubborn Love” by the Lumineers after the deal with his startup, Scale AI, closed.
Marc Andreessen: Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen appears to have both “Go the Fuck to Sleep” and Focus Alpha playlists.
Daniel Lurie: San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie’s alleged Peloton workout playlist includes Donald Glover’s “This Is America” (about racism and gun violence) and the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”.
Significance of the Revelation
While knowing the specific songs JD Vance or other figures listen to may seem trivial, the Panama Playlists incident serves as a striking example of the vulnerability of online data. It is a crucial reminder that an individual's digital footprint may be more public and traceable than commonly assumed. Similar to the case when Vance's Venmo account was left public, consumer - oriented apps collect data from everyone, including the most powerful in the US. For Spotify users, by default, any playlist created is public, and this setting must be manually changed.
In light of this, it is advisable for individuals to review and adjust their app settings promptly to safeguard their digital privacy.
