Sometimes creating something for another brand or entity comes with a cost.

Back in 2020, one Twitter user took to social media to share her grievances as the person who “invented the Spotify Wrapped story concept,” which curates personalized end-of-the-year lists for users to reflect back on their music taste.

“I really invented the Spotify wrapped story concept as an intern project in 2019 and they haven’t looked back since LMAO,” Jewel Ham wrote via Twitter in 2020.

Introducing The New Spotify Wrapped

Furthermore, she explained the evolution of the company’s original concept and her role in bringing it to life.

“To clarify, for those of y’all unfamiliar with #SpotifyWrapped — it used to be an email and a playlist,” Ham explained. “Since 2019, it has become an interactive user experience and that right there — was my idea!”

In a follow-up tweet, she also encouraged people not to “work corporate.”

Meet The Intern

According to Refinery29, at the time, Ham was a 21-year-old senior studying at Howard University. Although she says her presentation at the end of the internship was “received really well,” she was never asked to stay on to see it all the way through.

“I was a person that had Spotify and loved Wrapped, but it was just a link they would send at the end of the year,” she explained. “It was just something that you personally knew about. When I gave the presentation at the end of my intern project, it was received really well. They liked the idea. That was my last day.”

Statement From Spotify

On the other hand, Spotify disputes any claims that they ran off with her idea.

“Spotify is proud to provide young talent from all backgrounds with the opportunity to create, contribute, and learn alongside some of the best teams in the business,” a spokesperson told the outlet. “Since Spotify’s Wrapped concept was first introduced in 2013, hundreds of employees have contributed ideas and creative concepts that have made the experience what it is today. While ideas generated during Spotify’s internship program have on occasion informed campaigns and products, based on our internal review, that is not the case here with Spotify Wrapped. It’s unfortunate that things have been characterised otherwise.”