How do they decide what kind of theme song goes to which movies and tv shows?

I imagine the writers of the show/movie decide.

Yeah but what’s the thought process? How do they decide if jazzy, classical, or epic?

I don’t know if there is a good answer to your question @AshlynM. It’s a good question but I’d say it’s just one of those creative decisions. The director (or whoever makes that decision) has something in their mind and looks for music that fits OR commissions someone to produce a piece of music that fits.

The film’s genre or the era portrayed will or may influence the style of music (i.e. whether it’s jazzy or sad). They’ll want a piece of music that evokes a particular mood. So Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings is at least part of the soundtrack for Platoon. It’s mournful and makes you feel sad and I think, rather desolate. Where the theme to The Great Gatsy does evoke the 1920s, but there’s a sadness about it (and the story). The music to say Saw is a dramatic and I find it quite jarring. Or listen to the music for Wolf Creek. Remote areas of Australia are very isolated. So this music evokes that lost, alone, hopeless, spooky feel.

So the short answer is, they choose music that will evoke a mood. I would guess they’d test music too (if they have the funding). Have people listen to it and explain how it made them feel. I’m not in the film industry so I can’t confirm this. I’d be surprised if big budget films didn’t do this.

Excellent question. Directors often have favorite composers who are, er, well-tuned to their tastes and creative sensibilities and have worked with them on previous movies. Among many examples are Alfred Hitchcock/Bernard Herrmann and Tim Burton/Danny Elfman.

For TV shows, I’d say it’s up to the creator.

I loved the theme song for The Drew Carey Show. I thought the Cleveland Rocks theme sucked in comparison, but Drew obviously didn’t agree.

I remember there was at least one TV show that had a new theme every season?

Don’t most productions, whether movies or TV shows have a musical director who oversees it all (in collaboration with the director).

But,if it’s a big enough budget then they hire someone like John Williams who scores the entire movie from start to finish, hires the orchestra etc.

I remember seeing footage of him doing the score for ET along with a full orchestra.

I’ve also seen footage of music directors working on scoring particular scenes in a movie while it played soundlessly on a huge screen in front of them at their piano and making musical notations as they went along. I’ve always thought that would be a really nifty creative type of job to have :)