Listening to soundtracks is more a niche area within the music listening bubble, aside from those that the especially laden with chart friendly hits. Many soundtracks can be especially evocative, drawing in the listener to imaginary worlds and colourful soundscapes.
It seems that the soundtrack is a sub-genre that is doing especially well on streaming services. This includes Netflix soundtracks doing well on Spotify streams, where Purple Hearts is the most streamed soundtrack from a Netflix original series, earning approximately £458,454 in royalties.
The musical Tick, Tick…BOOM! comes in second, earning £413,660 in royalties from Spotify streams. Bridgerton dominates the ranking, holding three entries in the top 10.
The popularity of such soundtracks has been compiled by the digital headphones magazine Headphonesty and they have provided the outcome to Digital Journal.
The firm analysed every official soundtrack on Spotify from a Netflix original film or series to determine the most streamed soundtracks and their estimated royalties. To ensure fair comparisons, the analysis focused on the top 10 most streamed songs from each soundtrack, as the number of tracks in each soundtrack varied.
As indicated above, this analysis revealed that Purple Hearts takes the crown as the most streamed Netflix original series on Spotify. The most streamed song on the soundtrack is ‘Come Back Home’, with more than 103 million streams. This track is sung by the actor Sofia Carson, who sings all eight songs on the soundtrack.
Tick, Tick…BOOM! is a musical, starring Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson. The most popular song on the soundtrack is ‘30/90’, with more than 68 million streams.
The complete top ten are:
| Top 10 most streamed Netflix soundtracks | |||
| Rank: | Soundtrack: | Total Spotify streams | Earnings |
| 1. | Purple Hearts | 238,267,806 | £458,454 |
| 2. | Tick, Tick…BOOM! | 214,987,487 | £413,660 |
| 3. | Bridgerton Season 2 (Covers) | 133,691,582 | £257,238 |
| 4. | Don’t Look Up | 86,885,461 | £167,177 |
| 5. | Bridgerton Season 1 | 79,985,171 | £153,900 |
| 6. | Emily in Paris Season 1 | 78,030,554 | £150,140 |
| 7. | The Witcher Season 2 | 56,702,943 | £109,103 |
| 8. | A Beautiful Life | 48,183,092 | £92,710 |
| 9. | Persuasion | 36,796,709 | £70,801 |
| 10. | Bridgerton Season 2 | 35,351,294 | £68,020 |
The research revealed that Bridgerton Season Two (Covers) places third. Season two of the bodice-ripping drama is split into two different albums: one featuring covers of popular songs, somewhat out of keeping with era in which the series is set, such as Material Girl and Wrecking Ball, and the soundtrack of original compositions featuring music from Kris Bowers.
Don’t Look Up ranks as the fourth most streamed soundtrack from a Netflix original. The 2021 sci-fi comedy film features Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, and its soundtrack has over 86 million streams on Spotify. The soundtrack features Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi on the song Just Look Up. This is the soundtrack’s most streamed song, with more than 72 million streams alone.
Bridgerton Season One places next, in fifth place overall. The top ten is rounded out by ranking Emily in Paris Season One ranking in sixth place, The Witcher Season Two in seventh, followed by A Beautiful Life, Persuasion, and Bridgerton Season Two in eighth, ninth and, tenth, respectively.
These trends suggest a revival of the sounds of cinema and television and their popularity with the music streaming public.
