Apple TV+ swung into pickleball territory on July 24, 2026, with The Dink, a sports comedy directed by Josh Greenbaum and starring Jake Johnson, Ben Stiller, Ed Harris, and Mary Steenburgen. The film follows Dusty Boyd, a washed-up former tennis prodigy, as he reluctantly takes up pickleball to save his father’s struggling country club — with real-life tennis legends Andy Roddick and John McEnroe joining the fun as themselves. From here on, this article turns fully to the music behind The Dink: who composed it, what’s confirmed about the score, and what listeners can expect once further release details land.
The Dink Soundtrack Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Film | The Dink |
| Director | Josh Greenbaum |
| Studio/Production | Red Hour Films, Rivulet Films |
| Distributor | Apple Original Films |
| Platform | Apple TV+ |
| Release Date | July 24, 2026 |
| Composer | Dara Taylor |
| Label | Not yet announced |
| Total Tracks | Pending official release |
| Film Runtime | 102 minutes (1 hr 42 min) |
The Dink Soundtrack Overview
As of this writing, no standalone score album or original songs compilation for The Dink has been announced through official channels. What is confirmed, via Film Music Reporter, is that composer Dara Taylor wrote the original score for the film, marking her second collaboration with director Josh Greenbaum after scoring his previous features. Beyond the score itself, a Forbes review of the film noted the incorporation of country music cues alongside a callback to the 1967 classic The Graduate as stylistic touches within the film’s soundtrack landscape — though no specific song titles, artists, or scene placements tied to these needle drops have yet been verified through dedicated tracking sources like Tunefind, WhatSong, or SeekerTune. This is treated as expected latency for a title that premiered only days ago rather than a gap in reporting, and this article will be updated once an official tracklist, album release, or verified needle-drop data becomes available.
Who Composed The Dink Soundtrack?
The score for The Dink was written by Dara Taylor, an American film and television composer whose recent credits include a run of high-profile studio and streaming projects. Film Music Reporter confirmed her attachment to the project in August 2025, noting that this marked her reunion with director Josh Greenbaum, having previously scored his films Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (alongside Christopher Lennertz) and Strays.
Taylor was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, and raised primarily in Lockport, New York, growing up in a musical household with early experience in church choirs and school music programs. She studied music and psychology at Cornell University, graduating cum laude in 2009, where she worked with composers Zachary Wadsworth and Steven Stucky, and later earned a Master of Music in Film Composition from New York University in 2011.
Taylor built her early career as a frequent collaborator of composer Christopher Lennertz, contributing additional music and score production to projects including Agent Carter, Galavant, Bad Moms, Baywatch, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Sausage Party. She has since composed original scores independently for films such as The Invitation (2022), The Noel Diary (2022), and Strays (2023). Her score for Marvel Studios’ Ironheart earned an NAACP Image Award nomination, and she received a Hollywood Music in Media Award nomination in 2015 for her score to Undetectable. Her 2025 Netflix film Straw also brought her a Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) nomination for Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film.
The Dink Official Tracklist
Pending. No official tracklist, score album, or digital release for The Dink has been announced by Apple Original Films, Dara Taylor, or any record label as of this writing. Film Music Reporter’s August 2025 scoring announcement remains the only official confirmation tied to the film’s music, and databases such as FMDB have not yet indexed a release. This section will be updated in full, with verified track titles and durations, as soon as an official source publishes them.
Score Highlights
Because no tracklist or cue sheet has been released, individual track-level highlights cannot yet be verified. Based on confirmed critical coverage, however, reviewers have pointed to the film’s blend of comedic underdog-sports scoring with more sincere, character-driven passages underscoring the father-son relationship between Dusty (Jake Johnson) and Chuck (Ed Harris) — a tonal balance consistent with Taylor’s prior work on comedies like Strays and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. These observations are drawn from general critical commentary on the film’s tone rather than confirmed cue titles, and should be read as analytical framing rather than sourced, track-specific fact.
The Dink Licensed Songs / Needle Drops
A review from Movie Reviews from the Dark specifically highlighted the film’s use of country music as one of its more effective stylistic touches, alongside a nod to The Graduate (1967). However, no specific song titles, performing artists, or scene-by-scene placements have yet surfaced on needle-drop tracking sources like Tunefind, WhatSong, or SeekerTune — a gap consistent with the film’s very recent release date rather than an indication that no licensed music was used. This section is marked pending and will be filled in with confirmed songs and scene context once verified data becomes available.
Dara Taylor Composer Filmography
| Year | Title | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Echo Boomers | Film | Original score |
| 2021 | The Tender Bar | Film | Amazon Studios, dir. George Clooney |
| 2021 | Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar | Film | Co-scored with Christopher Lennertz |
| 2022 | The Invitation | Film | Sony Screen Gems |
| 2022 | The Noel Diary | Film | Netflix |
| 2023 | Strays | Film | Universal Pictures |
| 2024 | Meet Me Next Christmas | Film | Netflix |
| 2025 | Ironheart | Series | Disney+/Marvel; NAACP Image Award nomination |
| 2025 | Straw | Film | Netflix; SCL Award nomination |
| 2026 | Tyler Perry’s Joe’s College Road Trip | Film | Netflix |
| 2026 | Relationship Goals | Film | Amazon MGM Studios |
| 2026 | The Dink | Film | Apple Original Films / Apple TV+ |
Where to Listen The Dink Soundtrack?
The Dink is currently streaming exclusively on Apple TV+, but no official soundtrack or score album has been released yet on music platforms like Spotify or Apple Music. Once Dara Taylor’s score or any accompanying song collection is officially released, it will typically become available across major streaming services including Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music. Listeners should be cautious of unofficial fan-made playlists circulating online, since these are not verified sources for confirmed tracklists or credits. This section will be updated with direct streaming links as soon as an official release is confirmed.
FAQs
Who composed the music for The Dink?
The score was composed by Dara Taylor, known for her work on Strays, The Invitation, and Marvel’s Ironheart.
How many tracks are on The Dink soundtrack?
An official tracklist has not yet been released, so the total track count is currently unconfirmed.
When was The Dink released?
The film premiered globally on Apple TV+ on July 24, 2026.
Is there an official soundtrack album for The Dink?
Not yet. As of this writing, no score album or original songs compilation has been announced through official channels.
Where can I stream The Dink?
The film is available exclusively on Apple TV+.
Does The Dink feature any licensed songs?
A review noted the film uses country music as a stylistic element, but specific songs and artists have not yet been confirmed through verified needle-drop sources.
Has Dara Taylor worked with director Josh Greenbaum before?
Yes. She previously scored his films Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar and Strays.