Nailing the trailer has never been more important for success. A well-crafted spot for a new movie, show, or game has the potential to reach a huge audience online. Universal Production Music’s budget-friendly licensing solutions give you access to a library of quality music to enhance your project and its advertising campaign.

Trends come and go in the entertainment industry – we should know, with decades in the biz and an extensive catalog of production syncs. Creativity will always be the most important ingredient to cutting a trailer that hits, but it doesn’t hurt to stay up to date on cultural tastes. With that in mind, here’s a trend overview for music for film, TV, and gaming trailers.

Cover songs continue to reign

One of the most popular – and sometimes polarizing – trends in trailers is the use of eerie, distorted covers of nostalgic pop songs, adding a haunting twist that heightens the suspense and sticks a familiar tune in audiences’ minds. Some culture critics bemoan the gimmick, but “trailerization” shows no signs of slowing down. No one complains about a trailer song being too trendy if it’s the right fit for the project. Register to access a library of high quality tracks and expand your options.

Reimaged pop songs don’t need to be grim to convey epic scale. A recent trailer for The Minecraft Movie remixes the original 1967 Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” to sound even more psychedelic. After the fun-house mirror version of the original plays for the first 30 seconds, the soundtrack switches to a strange, plodding cover by a chorus of voices, and then back to the Beatles and their original performance for a triumphant end.

Video game movies used to be campy jokes, but as games have gotten more cinematic, their influence on culture has grown. Most AAA game trailers feel more awe-inspiring than spots for blockbuster movies. Discover our playlists inspired by video games to find epic trailer music.

Cinema-grade music in advertising

Advertising sits alongside many types of media these days, accompanying online videos and social media posts as well as television shows and films. The average American was exposed to about 500 ads each day in the 1970s but today’s estimates place the daily average as high as 5,000. Check out our high energy advertising music to see how to grab consumers’ attention. In all the noise, advertisers have become cleverer, turning ads into entertainment to differentiate themselves.

One tactic is to structure ads like trailers. Outright movie trailer parodies were an advertising trend around 2018, and one the public is a little tired of. However, advertisers are still getting mileage out of following the same arc, starting with tension-building scenes, escalating action, and culminating with a dramatic reveal, keeping viewers engaged without feeling like they’re watching a commercial. By adopting familiar cinematic music motifs — intense music, slow-motion effects, and cliffhanger moments — brands send their message within compelling narratives.

Discover our catalog of advertising production syncs to see how quality music can evoke emotion and heighten an ad.