Meet the duo telling the lesser-known story of Spotify in Netflix's new series

The neon green icon glows so fixedly from our everyday devices that it’s easy to forget how, not so long ago, Spotify completely changed the currency of music. But new Netflix series The Playlist is here to remind us of how Daniel Ek, backed by various tech and business masterminds, flipped an industry on its head – with the kind of entertainment value that other 2010s ‘unicorn’ startups have offered up to recent hit series (along the lines of WeWork for WeCrashed and Theranos for The Dropout).

Directed by Per-Olav Sørensen, the fictionalised take on Spotify’s origin story is sliced up into six episodes, weaving through time and space to capture the skewed and varied accounts of six key players in the story. Two of the six are dedicated to the female perspectives within a predictably male-dominated startup narrative: ‘The Law’ and ‘The Artist’, starring powerhouse Swedish talents Gizem Erdogan and Janice Kamya Kavander respectively.

We’re in a softly lit room of a Stockholm hotel early on a Monday morning as the pair settle in – Gizem in an arresting SportMax suit complete with collar and tie, and Janice radiant in a black slip and denim. Just one week out from the release of The Playlist, both are itching to see their complex, battle-ready characters released to the public eye, as part of what Gizem describes as a “difficult and brave project”.

Between the pair, the series first introduces us to Janice’s (fictional) character Bobbi T, a talented musician and acquaintance of Ek’s who finds herself directly affected by Spotify’s spectacular rise. As a soul musician herself, the role and subject matter is particularly close to home for Janice. “It was quite an experience, and a challenge, to play something that I actually am. But I wasn’t supposed to just play myself, I had to really believe that I could portray Bobbi. She’s not just one singer, she represents several artists: the big ones, the small ones, the up-and-coming, the ones that thrive and also the ones that want to fight for their passion,” she says.

The integration between Janice and Bobbi is further entangled by the release of Janice’s own track ‘Don’t Lay It All On Me’ specifically written for a moving scene in The Playlist’s final episode, and available to stream on her Spotify channel. In light of the challenges that Bobbi faces in the series, it’s impossible not to ask Janice her own view on the platform today. “Spotify can truly change someone’s life and career, but it’s kind of sad that it’s now a lot about the numbers and what playlist you’re on… it can lose the real essence of music,” she responds. “For me, music is about giving light and hope and force, to someone or something. So it can be hard to navigate through as an artist.”

Cue the significant legal component of Spotify’s story, portrayed by Gizem in the role of Petra Hansson, who was the real legal counsel for the company for around a decade. As Gizem monologues in Petra’s dedicated episode, “If there’s one thing record company big shots hate, it’s change. And if there’s one thing tech guys hate, it’s compromise”, as part of a fourth-wall breaking moment that recurs for most characters. Gizem, known for her roles in Love & Anarchy and Caliphate, met with Petra over Zoom in the midst of the pandemic. “I had a really nice talk with her, but then decided to create my own interpretation, my own version of Petra. Her episode has this kind of theatrical, surrealistic kind of feeling, so that also dared me to go in a different direction.”

A drastic change to Gizem's hair was part of this interpretation, with a nine-hour session (and subsequent shorter sessions) undertaken at a salon to graduate her hair from its natural inky darkness to a light, strawberry blonde. After concluding Petra’s arc in the series, Gizem says she had a little separation anxiety. “It was an intense journey, and I didn’t really want to leave her, I wasn’t really done with her. But I also felt good, I was like, I’m ready to go back to my dark hair,” she laughs. “I still struggle with the quality of my hair, so I don’t know if it was worth it?”, she ponders. Janice and I assure her it was.

Costuming is also crucial to the storytelling of the series, so much so that a coat rail serves as a symbolic thread at one point. Petra’s corporate journey is expressed through pinstripes and pearls, while Bobbi’s glittery ensembles empower her for her gig scenes – much needed as one required Janice to deliver 42 takes of a live performance over a 12 hour day. On the costuming, Gizem muses, “it’s a historical drama, but it’s, like, 16 years ago! It was difficult to get that specific 2004 look... like shoes! These sneakers from the 2000s are trendy today, but we needed the ones that were actually authentic back then.”

While Gizem and Janice don’t share any scenes throughout the series, they knew each other prior to the project, and the sense of mutual admiration between them is palpable. Despite the separate arcs of their character, Janice came on set and sat behind the monitor, watching Gizem’s tapes with Per-Olav, “it was so fun and inspiring,” Janice says to her. “You were like a director’s assistant!” Gizem laughs.

We finish on the topics of, what else, playlists. Gizem tells me she likes to be regularly culturally ‘reborn’ and has wiped all of her personal playlists with the view to start from the beginning. However, she finds a sense of connection in listening to her partner’s go-to playlist. “It’s so nice when I discover a new song on there, it’s like secret surprises. I’m travelling a lot and sometimes we’re not together, so it’s a little romantic for me,” she explains.

“Well, I’m a total soul lover” Janice sing-songs, and so it comes as no surprise that her favourite is Spotify’s own ‘Acoustic Soul’ playlist, one of the platform’s most popular that boasts over half a million likes. The big news? Her track for The Playlist, ‘Don’t Lay It All On Me’ has not only made the cut in that very playlist, but is the third track listing. “That’s so meta,” I comment, after offering my congratulations. “That’s f***ing amazing!” Gizem responds to her co-star, smiling.