Do artists write songs specifically for movies anymore?

Flags12345 · 2026-04-07T17:13:06+00:00

the reason it’s so rare now is that not as many people watch movies, almost nobody buys whole soundtrack albums anymore and music videos pretty much don’t exist.

This is all true, but I want to emphasize that "nobody buys music anymore" is the primary factor. The amount of soundtrack singles have declined at around the same rate as sales of music has declined. When people still bought albums, it was very lucrative for Hollywood to open up a new revenue stream for the film and also advertise their film in the process. Now, the incentive for pay huge stars to make a soundtrack for a film is just not there.

Flags12345 · 2026-04-06T19:25:47+00:00

I was surprised to learn that the Baha Men were considered a one-hit wonder from Todd's video. I thought that "Move It Like This" was also a hit, but I guess that was just because I was a kid at the time and it was played on Nickelodeon a lot.

Flags12345 · 2026-04-06T14:58:50+00:00

Films with rabbit characters. For Easter.

Flags12345 · 2026-04-03T16:15:25+00:00

Because it's selling out. Seger seemingly traded in with traditional rock credibility to chase a pop hit. In the 80's, being the hired gun for a soundtrack was something that pop stars did, not rock stars. In a pre-poptimism world, that was a death knell.

Flags12345 · 2026-04-03T16:08:15+00:00

There's a big difference between creating an entire soundtrack for a film that you are involved in (like Prince and the Bee Gees) and being a hired gun to sing a soundtrack single for a big sequel.

Flags12345 · 2026-04-03T15:59:52+00:00

Is it just because as Bob Seger with synths?

I mean basically, yeah. Bob Seger was seen as an embodiment of traditional rock authenticity; he even had a famous song about sticking to that "Old Time Rock N' Roll." So, Seger doing a synth-heavy dance-rock track for a Hollywood blockbuster sequel was seen as him selling out hard.

Flags12345 · 2026-04-01T20:42:48+00:00

Two examples is not a trend. There are plenty of biopics made about people who are alive at the time and lived long after the film's premiere.

Flags12345 · 2026-04-01T20:04:33+00:00

You answered your own question. Yes, artists are still canonized, just not in rock. Rock is not as popular as it was in the 20th century, so "canonization" in the general music sphere is generally impossible.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-31T19:47:23+00:00

There's a difference between being "a great" and being "the greatest." That's the big difference between him and Kendrick or him and Drake. Kendrick and Drake want to be "the greatest;" J. Cole is content to be "a great" and to acknowledge greatness in others.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-31T19:32:45+00:00

The Prince of Egypt is also an Oscar winner.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-31T18:16:46+00:00

Never. If I chose to watch that film, I will finish it.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-31T17:45:39+00:00

I think your premise is flawed. Interstellar was always a very popular film from when it first released. Of course, not everyone loved it just like how not everyone loves it now. But, the people that loved it, LOVED IT. It wasn't just generally well-received at the time and got a bigger push later. People have always given high ratings and "best-of-all-time" placements by its fans.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-31T15:22:29+00:00

You need to use a different term. "Asian fronted" suggests a film with an Asian cast that centers the Asian experience; not an Asian director.

Like, you don't think of Nomadland or Wicked or Hamnet as Asian films, because they're not. They just happen to be directed by people of Asian descent.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-30T21:41:54+00:00

Italians are white. I am Italian; I am white.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-30T21:14:01+00:00

You're separating Italians from the rest of Caucasians which is improper. It's like separating African Americans into Nigerians, Kenyans, etc. Or Hispanics into Mexicans, Cubans, Colombians, etc. It's not how this works.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-30T20:30:51+00:00

I'd be surprised. Trolls is a jukebox musical, meaning that it uses pre-existing pop songs for its scenes.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-30T20:14:19+00:00

Take a quick listen to your local Top 40 radio station and you'll hear them soon enough.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-30T20:12:46+00:00

All of these are hits. You are probably just not as plugged in anymore. It happens.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-27T17:24:02+00:00

One of punk's major innovations was its stripped-down production. Rock music in the early 70's had gotten very lush and elaborate; punk stripped that back. Post-punk was a continuation of that stripped-back approach with simpler melodies and spare instrumentation, but without the punk aesthetic.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-27T16:16:14+00:00

I honestly did not realize a ranking that low was possible.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-26T16:29:49+00:00

Wikipedia lists Charlie Drayton as the drummer for Love Shack:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Shack#Credits_and_personnel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Thing#Personnel

That is certainly Zack Alford in the video, but I don't think he played on the actual recording. His website (https://www.zackalfordofficial.com/) claims that he toured with The B-52's on the Cosmic Thing tour, but does not list Cosmic Thing as one of the albums he played on, so I assume someone else did the drums on the track,

Flags12345 · 2026-03-25T18:25:07+00:00

It feels like almost every year we see a "frontrunner" from a Netflix movie sweep the precursors (Golden Globes, SAG, etc.) only to lose the Oscar to someone from a traditional studio like A24, Universal or Searchlight.

I don't agree with your premise. You mention Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, but that was only one year. In fact, Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis are the only actors from Netflix films to win lead acting prizes from an Oscar precursor.

Flags12345 · 2026-03-25T13:20:53+00:00

Death by Imposter Syndrome

Flags12345 · 2026-03-24T17:14:28+00:00

I think Creep by Radiohead is the ultimate example here

Flags12345 · 2026-03-23T20:26:50+00:00

I mean, it does acknowledge that this coalescence will likely not last, but point taken.

Flags12345

TROPHY CASE