Why did movie trailers stop using modern needle drops?

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Why did movie trailers stop using modern needle drops?

As a Gen Z moviegoer who grew up with the magic of cinema and the rhythm of contemporary music, I find it disheartening to see the stark contrast between the dominating tunes in movie trailers and those that fill the airwaves and TikTok. It’s a stark reminder of how Hollywood seems to have forgotten about us.

I’d suggest paraphrasing the given text as follows:

It’s surprising to use a melody from a Denzel Washington movie trailer that is over a decade old in the promotion for “Gladiator II.” However, this practice isn’t unusual in today’s Hollywood, where trailers often utilize tunes that were released before 2015. This trend is quite different from the norm in film marketing for several decades.

Movie trailers have long relied on contemporary radio hits to attract audiences to theaters. Oldies and carefully selected soundtracks were still in use, but for most films, a modern tune was essential. Think back to the ’90s when Forest Gump’s soundtrack didn’t gain popularity without Nirvana and other bands of the era. Or consider the late ’90s trailers that prominently featured Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life.” In the early 2000s, it seemed mandatory for trailers to include Smash Mouth or Blink-182 songs. Perhaps this was a hidden provision in the PATRIOT Act?

In the 2010s, as a movie fan, I noticed a shift in how trailers were marketed by film studios. They started using contemporary music in their teasers to appeal to younger audiences. The idea was that if people liked an artist or song, they might develop an affinity for the upcoming movie. For instance, “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” among many other films from that era, incorporated popular tracks by artists like Kanye West and Imagine Dragons to capture the attention of the under-30 demographic.

In the summer of 2015, “Hey Mama” by David Guetta featuring Nicki Minaj (along with two other artists) served as a fond farewell for this musical phenomenon. This upbeat track was prominently used in numerous comedy movie trailers, making it nearly impossible to escape if you visited the theater. The trailers for “American Ultra” and “Sisters,” shown back-to-back, were major carriers of this infectious tune. Surprisingly, “Hey Mama” even made a reappearance the following summer in the “Bad Moms” trailer! There seemed to be no other suitable song selection for depicting unconventional antics from wacky white characters.

Towards the end of the 2010s, there was a noticeable change. The most popular songs from that period, across all genres, were no longer featured in film promotion materials. For instance, “Wake Me Up” by Avicii and “Gone, Gone, Gone” by Lady Antebellum were used in trailers for “A Dog’s Way Home” and “A Dog’s Journey”, respectively, which were released in 2019. The promotional material for “Jumanji: The Next Level” included Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”. Surprisingly, “The Secret Life of Pets 2” trailer relied on the Killers track “All These Things That I’ve Done”.

In recent movie trailer trends during the 2020s, using popular songs has become more common. However, there are still some exceptions. For instance, the horror film “M3gan” from 2023 used Taylor Swift’s song “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” in its initial trailer. On the other hand, “Madame Web” opted for Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend.” Trailers with popular songs are now the exception rather than the rule. Most 2023 blockbusters like “The Flash,” for example, prefer using distorted versions of well-known tracks, such as Pink Floyd’s “Time,” in their trailers.

In simpler terms, the 2024 film “Monkey Man” generated excitement with a Jay-Z remix of Panjabi MC’s “Beware of the Boys (Mundian to Bach Ke)” that debuted in 2003 and was famously used in promotions for “The Dictator” in 2012. Unlike contemporary trailers, which feature hits from artists like New Chappell Roan, Beyonce, and Sabrina Carpenter, our movie’s previews do not include these tunes. Instead, it once again showcases the intense energy of “Black Skinhead,” which was a staple in “The Wolf of Wall Street” trailers when it was released.

Why is it that pop songs from around 2015, excluding the occasional Taylor Swift track, dominate modern movie trailers? The decline of big-screen comedies plays a role in this trend. Comedies were once the primary users of popular radio hits from artists like Maroon 5 and Train in their previews. However, with the disappearance of mainstream Kevin James and Kevin Hart films, so too went the use of contemporary pop tunes in major Hollywood trailers. In their place, the success of movies like “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) led to a surge in the use of distinctive “retro” needle drops. Therefore, if trailers for upcoming films like “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” or “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” were to include familiar tunes, they would likely be drawn from the 70s rather than recent hits by artists such as Post Malone.

An alternative explanation could be that people are seeking distraction. Based on conjecture, the majority of movie trailer music selections end in 2015. Post-Donald Trump’s election and the COVID-19 pandemic, songs reflecting these events might not align with Hollywood’s focus on providing an escape. Given the widespread analysis regarding the film industry shying away from acknowledging COVID-19, this trend in music marketing could represent another manifestation of avoiding sensitive topics.

In recent years, there’s been a noticeable trend in Hollywood towards producing movies that cater more to an older audience. Movies featuring teenagers, which once dominated the scene and required heavy marketing towards musicians popular among young people, have become less common. Instead, summer blockbusters, originally targeted at children, now try to evoke nostalgic feelings for men aged 40 and above. The industry has been releasing numerous remakes of past projects, particularly live-action versions of classic Disney cartoons. As a result, Hollywood seems to have moved away from its long-standing focus on the demographic of 15-29-year-olds. Additionally, marketing strategies for music in movies have evolved accordingly.

In modern trailers, filmmakers are hesitant to include popular artists like 102 gecs and Chappell Roan beloved by younger audiences. This strategy could potentially turn off older viewers who long for reminders of the original Ghostbusters. Instead, we frequently see trailers with clips set to classic songs like “Born to Be Wild” or “Spirit in the Sky.” An extreme example of this repetitive trend is the Reagan trailer, where the second half features a solemn cover of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” This bold decision was made to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Dracula Untold trailer and its haunting Lorde rendition of that tune. In essence, marketing strategies often recycle old hits as if they are new once more.

Modern movie trailers for films like Trap, Barbie, and Twisters sometimes include trendy tunes in their previews. However, most of these instances feature songs composed expressly for the movie to promote its original soundtrack, not reflecting current popular music trends. The majority of movie marketing, however, tends to avoid using post-2015 tracks. This pattern might lead young audiences (Gen-Z and Gen Alpha) to feel excluded from cinematic experiences. It’s crucial for Hollywood to broaden its musical horizons and include more recent songs in trailers to attract a new generation of moviegoers. After all, we don’t want the under-20 crowd thinking “theatrical cinema isn’t for me”!

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2024-07-24 17:15