Sadly, Netflix Missed Out On Becoming The Actual GOAT Of Streaming

The video streaming giant’s signature sound could have been very, very different.
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Netflix’s logo animation and signature sound are undoubtedly iconic. The sound logo, which you can hear below, is referred to internally at the company as the “Ta Dum” and debuted in 2015.

But apparently it was almost another sound, and it would’ve made Netflix the unquestioned GOAT of streaming.

On a new episode of the “Twenty Thousand Hertz” podcast, Todd Yellin, Netflix’s vice president of product, explained the origins of the “Ta Dum” and how Oscar-winning sound designer Lon Bender created Netflix’s sound logo (which is made of a variety of sounds, including Bender knocking his wedding ring on a cabinet).

Bender brought together all sorts of sound possibilities, including sound effects, strange instruments and other real-world sounds — and, in the process, an unusual choice made the final round: a goat bleat.

“I liked the sound of a goat. It was funny, I thought it was quirky, and it was our version of Leo the Lion, and so for a while we were stuck on that goat sound,” Yellin said.

Host Dallas Taylor couldn’t play the sound, but described one of Netflix’s goat options as “very goaty,” also doing an impression, which kind of sounds like these:

Obviously, Netflix chose not to go with the goat in the end, also passing on what Yellin described as an ethereal “bubbly” sound. The streaming service eventually went with the “Ta Dum,” which did favorably in a word association experiment with consumers.

Did Netflix make the right choice? Or was it a baaaaaad decision?

Regardless of your feelings, this was likely the reaction of goats everywhere when they found out:

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