From Tunes to Tickets: The Musical Marketing Power of ‘A Star Is Born’

In 2018, people heard Bradley Cooper sing on the radio for the first time, and the reaction wasn’t a shock but more of a… “Of course he can sing too”.

Soundtracks can skyrocket movies into top spots at the box office. Some movies have scores of orchestral music giving scenes additional emotion without anyone noticing. But others apply the perfect song to set the scene, giving it life and meaning. Movies with original soundtracks will often let out a song or the whole soundtrack before it is released. It’s a fantastic marketing tactic to use music as extra advertisement to build hype around films, especially those with a music base.

The Oscar-nominated film A Star Is Born lured in fans by releasing the song “Shallow” a week before the movie came to theaters. The powerful rock ballad fueled the curiosity and eagerness for the film’s premiere. The video was also released featuring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper singing the duet together at a concert with snippets of the movie sprinkled throughout.

According to Billboard, “Shallow” had 8.3 million U.S. downloads the week leading up to the movie’s release. The song itself has a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year and an Oscar nomination for Original Song. Unlike Cooper, Gaga has been at the top of the billboard charts for years, but this tune has been number one on the online sales charts longer than any of her other songs.

When someone hears a song they absolutely love they can’t help but look into the artist. This song has an entire movie circled around it, so of course when people heard it on the radio they had to see the movie in theaters. That increased exposure ultimately helped A Star Is Born crescendo to the tune of over $200 million at the domestic box.