Spotify adds a Netflix hub so you can listen to the chilling sounds of Squid Game

By Simon Cohen Updated November 23, 2021

Spotify has long been the king of the playlists in the streaming music universe, and now that is has partnered with Netflix, you’ll also have access to dozens of official playlists and soundtracks for shows like La Casa De Papel (Money Heist), Narcos: Mexico, Outer Banks, Squid Game, tick, tick… Boom!, and Cowboy Bebop. You’ll find them starting November 23 on Spotify’s new Netflix hub, or simply by searching for “netflix.”

The Netflix hub, which is available on both free and premium price plans, will also be home to several Netflix-focused podcasts, like Okay, Now Listen, Netflix Is A Daily Joke, 10/10 Would Recommend, and The Crown: The Official Podcast.

Netflix hub on Spotify. — Spotify

It’s not the first time that Spotify and Netflix have cooperated. Spotify had previously released an enhanced album experience for the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall, featuring a soundtrack that was overseen by Jay-Z. There was also a content destination for La Casa De Papel, Part 5 Volume 2. Both of these collections can now be found in the Netflix hub.

Curious which Netflix shows might make their way into the Spotify audio collection? Netflix’s new Top 10 website could be a good bellwether to keep an eye on (or you could just take careful note of our Netflix roundups like the best shows on Netflix or the best movies on Netflix).

Consider the Netflix hub one more arrow in Spotify’s quiver as it does everything it can to keep competitors like Apple Music and Amazon Music at bay. If it proves popular on Spotify, you can bet Apple and Amazon will consider similar features for their music services given that they too operate streaming video services that they can leverage. Ted Lasso playlists, anyone?

Along with new content, Spotify has also been tweaking its features. You can now block people from following you on Spotify, and the mobile app finally has synchronized lyrics, a feature that subscribers had been asking for. Though when the company will finally make good on its promise to debut a Hi-Fi streaming option is anyone’s guess.

Topics

Contributing Editor, A/V

Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like spatial…

Entertainment

3 reasons why Squid Game is still the best Netflix show to watch

Workers in red uniforms with black masks standing in formation in a scene from Squid Game.

When it premiered on Netflix in 2021, Squid Game was nothing more than another South Korean, foreign language series. However, it only took a short period of time before the it became Netflix’s most-watched series ever, attracting 1.65 billion viewing hours in its first month. Fourteen Primetime Emmy nominations and six wins later, including one for Lee Jung-jae for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Squid Game has struck a chord for many reasons.

It tells the story of desperate people being recruited for a secret contest. They just need to play a series of children’s games. The last person standing of 456 players wins the prize pot of 45.6 billion won, or about $36 million dollars. But there’s a catch: surviving the game is literal. Losers are killed in the most heinous, twisted ways, often at the hands of other competitors willing to do whatever it takes. Squid Game, however, is about a lot more than terrifying games and mass murder, and it's definitely more substantial than the reality show spin-off, Squid Game: The Challenge, that premiered on Netflix in November. There are many reasons Squid Game is still the best Netflix show to watch.
It’s topical social commentary

Entertainment

Squid Game: The Challenge: Release date, channel, trailer, and everything we know so far

The cast of Squid Game: The Challenge.

In 2021, Squid Game, a Korean survival thriller series, was released on Netflix and it quickly became one of the streamer's most popular original shows. Conceived by series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game follows a select group who are among the 456 players who are competing for a large cash prize. To emerge victorious, the players will have to master several children's games. But what the players don't realize until it's too late is that the penalty for failing in the games is death, in order to whittle down the 456 contestants to a single winner.

Squid Game's success meant that a second season was inevitable, but that won't arrive on Netflix until 2024 at the earliest. However, Netflix is set to debut a new reality competition series, Squid Game: The Challenge, which will place real players in the games from the show -- but presumably with less fatal consequences for failure. With Squid Game: The Challenge right around the corner, we've put together everything you need to know about the show.
When will Squid Game: The Challenge stream?

Entertainment

5 hidden gems on Netflix you have to watch in August

Betty Suarez in "Ugly Betty."

It's August, and Netflix has begun to add its latest batch of classic and original properties to its digital library. From exciting new releases like Heartstopper season 2 and the live-action version of One Piece to already-beloved hits like Paddington and Despicable Me, there is a lot of content for streamers to immerse themselves in the last full month of this sweltering summer.

While they have the time this month, audiences should sit down and watch these five gems that they might have missed surfing through Netflix.
Bee Movie (2007)