(NEXSTAR) – Since 2015, Netflix viewers have been bludgeoned over their eardrums with the streamer’s signature “Tudum” sound, a punchy sonic phrase that plays before its original programming.
The origin of that sound, however, has become a topic of conversation among online conspiracy theorists in recent years.
What exactly is the ‘Tudum’ sound?
Netflix’s own sound designers have explained that the “Tudum” sound heard in the Netflix intro is based on a recording of a wedding ring knocking against a piece of furniture. It was created by Oscar-winning sound designer Lon Bender, who recorded the noise of his own ring hitting a cabinet in his bedroom, and then mixed it with the sound of a hammer striking an anvil, among other noises.
“In order to add different qualities to it, I sweetened it with other things, which is normal for us in the film-sound industry,” Bender revealed in a 2020 episode of the “Twenty Thousand Hertz” podcast.
For a finishing touch, Bender and composer Charlie Compagna then attached a synth-like hum (or “blossom”) using an effects-laden guitar, and placed it directly after the knocking noise.
Is there reason to doubt the origin of the ‘Tudum’ sound?
Over the years, some Netflix viewers have expressed skepticism over Bender’s explanation, instead theorizing that the “Tudum” noise is simply a repurposed sound effect from a 2014 episode of “House of Cards.” They believe, specifically, that the “Tudum” sound (or an early version of it) was first used in the final scene of the show’s second season, when President Frank Underwood — played by Kevin Spacey — places a ring on his finger and then twice bangs his fist against his desk in the Oval Office.
According to these theories — which have been shared on Reddit and TikTok, among other social media platforms — the story about Lon Bender’s wedding ring is a deliberate attempt by Netflix to downplay any connection to Kevin Spacey, who was later dropped from “House of Cards” amid an accusation of sexual misconduct.
“It was just marketing trying to distance themselves from the show,” one Reddit user claimed in a 2022 discussion about the “Tudum” sound’s origins.
Representatives for Netflix declined to comment on these theories, which again began circulating more recently on TikTok and Reddit. Bender’s explanation, meanwhile, appears to be one of the only on-the-record accounts of the “Tudum” sound’s origins from an inside source.
Whatever the case, Netflix appears to have achieved its goal of crafting a memorable, sonic logo that viewers would closely associate with the streaming service.
Former Netflix executive Todd Yellin, in his own interview for “Twenty Thousand Hertz,” said in 2020 that he believed the “Tudum” sound was successful, in part, because of how “cinematic” it was. Then again, he also admitted that he was a fan of an earlier version, which differed from the current “Tudum” in that it included — for real — the sound of a braying goat at the end.
“It was funny. I thought it was quirky. And it was our version of [MGM’s] Leo the Lion,” Yellin said. “And so, for a while, we were stuck on the goat sound. I thought that would be a good time.”
