Trailerized Tracks: The Perfect Pitfall

Movie production companies know how to grab an audience and compel them to sit through the trailer for the latest Hollywood blockbuster.  Part of the secret sauce of success is their choice of trailer music.  In many cases, it’s recognizable, but a different take on the song.

“Trailerized” music is a term for music created specifically for movie trailers. The music is used to support the trailer's sales message and infuse some emotion into the short piece. Trailerized music is often a remixed or slowed-down version of a classic song; it may have a different tempo or arrangement, which can grab people's attention. For example, the song "War Pigs" by Junkie XL was used in the teaser for Justice League.  It’s packed with emotion, Ozzy’s raw vocals, orchestrations that rise and fall as needed in the brief piece, and crescendo’s to an energetic fury at the end.

The music is usually not included in the film's soundtrack. Instead, it's created by a trailer music composer and often contains orchestral arrangements. These tracks typically follow a structure of an intense intro, a main section with a dramatic build, and a climactic ending/finale. Think of it as “music concentrate”.  All the best parts of the song are there, with no fluff and it’s smashed into a very tight time frame.

Over the past couple of months, several teams have come to The Score requesting help clearing some “trailerized” music.  Although the music is PERFECT for the produced pieces teams look to create for opens or hype reels, these tracks can be riddled with issues. 

1. Artist Approval: One of the most noticeable drawbacks of trailerized music is artist approval.  In some cases, a track is created for release, like the 2WEI version of the Deep Purple classic “Smoke On The Water”.  It is recognizable, but different and makes an immediate impact.  It should be good for use, right?  Wrong.  Although 2WEI was able to release the track for their album, the publishing rights for the track revert back to the original songwriters in Deep Purple.  They refuse to allow use for any version of the track, except their own.

2. Licensing Issues: Trailerized music often has massive issues determining who owns the master or the recorded piece of music.  Trailers typically start with a company hiring a DJ to put the piece together.  If the rights or ownership of the piece is not properly vetted prior to the use of the track, the rights can become a big problem, especially if the piece becomes popular.  The company and DJ end up arguing who owns the piece and that holds up all licensing conversations.

3. Movie Company Co-Ownership: If a movie company co-owns the track, do yourself a favor and choose another song.  These companies like Universal and Warner Brothers co-own the music to stop any other use.  They want the track to stand out and be recognized as part of the trailer for their movie and will deny any other use of the track.  Save yourself time and energy.  Learn to move on if a movie company is involved.

4. Splits: A split is the track percentage owned by each party.  For example, if two songwriters agree on a 50-50 split, each publisher will receive 50% of the total music publishing royalties. The overall music publishing ownership total ALWAYS adds up to 100%. In some cases, with trailerized versions, splits are not rectified.  The DJ who created the track may want a part of the publishing rights, or a portion of the master to their production company.  For example, if a co-writer claims 40% of a song and the other co-writer claims 70%, the royalties will be put on hold until an agreement is reached.  If there are discrepancies in the splits and they are not settled, move on from the track.  If they haven’t been rectified for other uses, they won’t be rectified for your sports use.

5. Overexposure and Fatigue: Trailerized music has permeated not only trailers but also commercials, video game promos, and various forms of media. This overexposure has the unintended consequence of causing audience fatigue. These once exhilarating orchestral swells and pounding drums can quickly become tiresome and clichéd when encountered repeatedly.  Use sparingly.

Although these tracks are cinematic and cause a swell of emotion, they can be problematic.  If you insist on trying to track down and license one of these songs, the strongest recommendation we can make is to have a plan B.  Nobody wants to roll with plan B, but having one at the ready is good practice.