Netflix’s The Witcher adaptation seems to be the streaming service’s latest hit, helped at least in part by the massive viral success of the hit song of the season, “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher,” sung by the bard Jaskier (Joey Batey) at the end of the show’s second episode to immortalize the epic deeds of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill).

But there’s one huge issue with “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” (other than the fact that it will get stuck in your head seemingly forever): Netflix hasn’t released it (or any of The Witcher’s soundtrack) for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, or any other major streaming or music purchasing service.

The only semi-official release of the song, in fact, comes not from Netflix, but from a post from Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli — the composers for The Witcher’s soundtrack — on Soundcloud. The post itself has nearly half a million views, which is certainly impressive, but it’s nothing compared to the tens of millions of plays it has across channels on YouTube — plays that could be going toward an official Netflix release on Spotify or Apple Music (or at the very least, with an official YouTube post from Netflix that links viewers to The Witcher).

It’s not like Netflix couldn’t have seen this coming. In an interview with Men’s Health, Batey commented that, “It’s the most annoying thing I’ve ever heard. It’s so catchy.” Later in the interview, Batey elaborated that the song has stuck with him for months, compared to the scant week the rest of the world has had with it. “Everyone’s been listening to it for a week or so now, and humming it. I’ve had that in my head for eight months.”

In other words, there’s no way that the folks over at Netflix couldn’t be aware that “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” wasn’t going to blow up.

According to an Instagram post from Belousova, an official soundtrack release for The Witcher is theoretically ready to go, assuming Netflix decides to release it at all. “We have the soundtrack ready to go and can’t wait to get it out, however there’s no ETA at the moment since it is up to Netflix whether or not to make it happen.”

Compare that strategy to shows like Watchman, which has had official soundtrack releases for its popular songs (like the Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross cover of “Life on Mars?”) ready to stream just hours after the episodes aired. This kind of brand awareness isn’t a new idea for musically inclined TV shows, either. Series like Glee, Galavant, and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series have all experienced the benefits of having songs ready to stream — and potentially go viral across the internet — immediately. Netflix itself has seen the power of having potentially popular songs ready to go: the recently released comedy special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch had a full soundtrack on Spotify and iTunes the day it came out, as have plenty of other series (like Stranger Things).

And even if one wanted to argue that there’s no demand for a full The Witcher soundtrack, Netflix could have still had just a single ready to drop for “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” — a move the company has recently used for the original film Let It Snow and its breakout track “First Christmas (That I Loved You)” by star Shameik Moore.

It’s possible all this is simply temporary, and Netflix is planning a big release for a Witcher soundtrack down the line. But even if the company does have one in the works, it’ll have missed the viral moment around the song — and there’s no way it’ll be able to recover that.

https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/12/30/21042791/netflix-toss-a-coin-to-your-witcher-song-hit-streaming-spotify-apple-music-why