The Playlist – Limited Series [2022]

The Playlist on Netflix is a lot more interesting than you might initially expect. But the very realistic show goes sidesways in the end.

Pushing incidents and personal histories to the side, the series delivers a focused account of how an implausible idea to provide the world with free access to any song was made possible by a small company in Stockholm. Each episode focuses on one of the key founding members and their specific point of view of the events that led to the launch.

Even though I loved the story telling, I couldn’t stop thinking about how egocentric Daniel Ek (Edvin Endre) was portrayed. To be honest, it falls pretty much in line with what we’ve recently seen about the founders of Uber and WeWork, and what we’re currently seeing unfold with Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey and Twitter. It’s sad, but that’s the blunt truth.

However, for some reason, the producers decided to make the final episode like an episode of Black Mirror. Fast forward into the future, the final episode suddenly turns dark. Daniel Ek is portrayed as a power hunger dictator starving artists to build his mansion.

True or not, Netflix should know better. The streamer realized early on that original content is king if you don’t want to be owned by the producing studios. And that’s the case for Spotify. Music is owned by record labels. They set the rules whether we like it or not. So, Netflix allowing Spotify and their founder to be portrayed in this way is an extremely low blow. Not a fan.

Should you watch it?

All in all, The Playlist is a worthy exercise about how much the tech industry loves to corrupt good intentions. And how much egos play a role in tech unicorns.

Where can I watch it?

You can stream The Playlist exclusively on Netflix everywhere.