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Sunday, 23 October 2022

The compelling story of how Spotify revolutionized the music industry

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The app that changed the music industry: Netflix’s The Playlist is a fascinating six-part dramatization of how Spotify was created. Daniel Ek, the programmer who developed the software, was a nervous, bald, socially awkward outsider from a humble family who soon rose to the top of the music industry. In the first episode, we meet Ek in 2004 when he used coins to buy an Aretha Franklin CD for his mother. Google turns him down for being undereducated, and motivated by this rejection, Ek embarks on revolutionizing the music industry with tech. The show deftly shifts viewpoints in every episode to keep things interesting, meaning we get to peek into the financial side of things through the eyes of Sony Music’s managing director.

Our verdict: The Playlist is a well-written show with excellent performances and an intriguing premise. The series examines the benefits and drawbacks of streaming music, as well as who will be left out in the cold when the dust settles (watch trailer, runtime 1:51).

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