Music & Movement

Dune © 2021 Legendary & Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The success of Kate Bush’s track Running up that Hill in Stranger Things has prompted debate about the use of repurposed soundtracks versus original scores in film, television and commercials. What are the pros and cons of both, the differences in costs and the risks of developing original scores in comparison to using already existing music?

Music is a tool to navigate through the narrative of a film. Whether it be the grandeur of Hans Zimmer’s compositions during the otherworldly scenes of Dune, or the unsettlingly nostalgic journey throughout Ryan Murphey’s Dahmer, the auditory experience in film and television shapes audiences’ emotional responses to the scenes in front of them.

But while some music choices become synonymous with their accompanying visuals, does the risk of creating new music for film and television encourage the use of pre-licensed music?

Pre-licensed music in films is not a new concept in production. From Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums decade jumping rock classic mashups to the eclectic partnering of Enya and Mary J Blige in Thor: Love and Thunder, the surprise of a playlist favourite creates a unique sense of familiarity.

As fans ran to their Netflix accounts to partake in the worldwide premiere of Stranger Things 4, many were not expecting the musical time machine that they would be entering. While the eery compositions of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein garnished the dark and twisted scenes of Hawkins, this season’s musical choices took a whirlwind of a journey in the world of the show’s audiences.

With its era-specific tones to match the eighties set award-winning series, Kate Bush’s airy vocals accompanied by powerful instrumentals proved to be unexpectedly fitting. In the new season, Max, played by Sadie Sink, is saved from the hands of Vecna, played by Jamie Cambell Bower. Bush’s catchy chorus and synth chords awoke something much more amongst audiences than the show could have expected.

“The sequence was really cool and we were happy with it, but it was missing a little something,” stated series co-creator Matt Duffer in an interview with Netflix earlier this year. “I was like, ‘Well, let’s try Kate. Because when has Kate let us down?’ And it just took it to this new heights. It’s arguably the most epic Kate Bush moment. It comes back in a major way.”

Stranger Things © Ursula Coyote & Netflix.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND STREAMING ARE GIVING YOUNGER GENERATIONS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCOVER OLDER MUSIC, RESURRECTING THEIR POPULARITY AND CAUSING A MULTIGENERATIONAL PULL TOWARDS HOW THEY ARE USED.

James Bond: No Time to Die © 2021 Danjaq, LLC & Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. First released in 1985, Running Up That Hill made a 21st century return to the charts, breaking three UK records when it hit number one. It also reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles. With a 44 year gap between its chart presences, Bush became the oldest woman to hold the number one spot with the song’s revival.

Running Up That Hill has made silver screen appearances in many other shows such as ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, FX’s Pose, HBO’s Big Little Lies and Showtime’s On Becoming a God in Central Florida, but with Stranger Things it sky rocketed.

But with the transferability of repurposed songs, is film and television missing out on becoming an individual experience ?

“There is always a risk in creating anything,” commented composer Alex Somers. “A risk that it won’t be good or won’t be heard and felt in the ways that you hoped for. But this is life and all we can do is imagine new sonic and musical worlds and try to realise them and bring them to life. Film is an amazing and rich place to experiment and explore with new sounds. Yes, you could say there is less risk with using existing music if the music is well loved by the audience but I don’t think making music for film is that steeped in risk. It is more about our creative practices and being unafraid to do something that is really ourselves and not let ourselves conform and sound like everybody else just because you can.”

With the boisterous compositions of Hans Zimmer standing the test of time and new talents like Alex Somers taking to the stage, the original score is very much still alive and relevant. Whilst not possessing the same catchy hooks that have resonated across radio stations and across generations, music made specifically for films harness a unique quality.

Evoking conflicting emotions over its culturally influenced tones, the power behind the machine generated drums and reverberating vocal calls of Dune’s soundtrack is undeniable. Zimmer’s musical finesse, as displayed in his revered work for James Bond: No Time to Die, Apple TV mini series Prehistoric Planet and most classically Gladiator, brings an auditory dimension that takes visuals to another level.

Scores from talents such as Zimmer have even reached beyond isolated film fans, entering the world of social media. With his own account, Zimmer has credited apps like TikTok and Instagram for discovering new talents, as well as reaching his new audiences who might not be familiar with the crescendos of his work on Gladiator. In the midst of his 287.7 thousand follower count, fans of the composer are redefining his music for a new audience, with remixes and adaptations, creating another dimension to the classics. Unlike the inclusion of already licensed music in filmed content, the process of creating an accompanying piece of music is an intimately orchestrated process that often transcends the simple role of writing a song or instrumental. The relationship that is developed leaves little room for risk in regards to how the music will be integrated into the project.

“Every time I begin making new music for a film, a series, a dance piece or anything visual, I try and steep myself in the world that my music will be entering into and helping to create,” states Somers, who’s work recently featured on the soundtrack for Disney+ cannibalistic thriller Fresh. “I have long creative chats with directors and choreographers about how they imagine the music functioning and sounding. I ask if they have specific instrument dreams or sound ideas, then go off on my own and write and record a lot of music. I’ll work a lot by myself experimenting and trying to find the sound of the film in the simplest most raw form possible.”

As musicians take on the musical responsibility for their accompanying visuals’ soundscapes, it is hard to think how that can be replicated through songs that have loaned their emotionality to so many varied projects. Through the relationship built between composer and the filmed piece, certain harmonies and musical cadences become synonymous with the visual art.

“Often the sound of the music I record is changed radically once I lay it to picture or get it in the computer and begin treating the sounds,” added Somers. “The recorded music is just the clay to mould into something. I love working with computers and outboard effects to find new sounds and textures and this part of the process is often the most fun and surprising!”

“I think creating original music for films will never die. It’s a beautiful craft and will always be relevant for filmmakers to work with composers to create a musical language in their films,” concluded Somers. “Both songs and original music live side by side in harmony.”

While the use of music in film could be down to the numbers, like Kate Bush’s USD2.3 million pay in royalties, or the percentage of a film budget used to compose an original, the creation of the auditory experience in film is a personal one. Social media and streaming are giving younger generations the opportunities to discover music of past generations, resurrecting their popularity and causing a multigenerational pull towards how they are used.

“YOU COULD SAY THERE IS LESS RISK WITH USING EXISTING MUSIC IF THE MUSIC IS WELL LOVED BY THE AUDIENCE BUT I DON’T THINK MAKING MUSIC FOR FILM IS THAT STEEPED IN RISK.”