[Mr_Glass.1]

Which is fine, I think.  Trailers don't need the best music in the world.

[Dr Malcolm Crowe]

Yeah, I hate when a trailer uses a great piece of music that is nowhere to be found in the movie. I feel cheated.

[Mr_Glass.1]

I know what you mean Dr Malcom Crowe, I completely understand.  Also, you hear this great piece of music in the trailer so you check out the soundtrack and it's not that good.

[Mr. Heep]

Trailers shouldn't be a basis on which to buy any score. Trailers on incredibly rare occasion use music from the actual film... maybe about 0.5% of the time, like with "Return of the King", and it'd only be because the music was composed earlier than normal.

Take Brian Tyler's "Children of Dune", for example. Master and Commander, Narnia 1, Cinderella Man, Kung Fu Panda, The Golden Compass, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Star Trek are all examples of trailers that have used music from Tyler's score for that miniseries... Apparently it was that good.

[Imalshen]

Trailers shouldn't be a basis on which to buy any score. Trailers on incredibly rare occasion use music from the actual film... maybe about 0.5% of the time, like with "Return of the King", and it'd only be because the music was composed earlier than normal.

Take Brian Tyler's "Children of Dune", for example. Master and Commander, Narnia 1, Cinderella Man, Kung Fu Panda, The Golden Compass, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Star Trek are all examples of trailers that have used music from Tyler's score for that miniseries... Apparently it was that good.

Brian Tyler is one of my favorite composers, second to Howard of course. They also used music from his Children of Dune soundtrack in the "A Mighty Heart" trailer.

[Brabbel]

Watch the Avatar trailer (blue people one) it's the music of "the island"...it's not the composers fault they just use music for fitting the trailer maybe because the composer hasn't finish with is work or what so ever...."last airbender" is the only trailer that comes in my mind now that hat composed music

[Mr. Heep]

Return of the King and Tron: Legacy are also a few.

[jaugust]

wow this is a good find! What a rip off !!! Even the composers name sounds like a knock off of James Newton Howard. Cant wait for MNS's next movie AfterEarth!!!!!!!!!!!!! on a side note I have been listening to James Newton Howards Music scores from the village, LITW, and unbreakable while studying for my my exams and Tiday I found out i recieved a 96 on one !!! Owahh owahh Such good music!

[Mike.E]

I know this post hasn't been touched in a while, but I didn't think anyone touched on one of the reasons that music from other films get used in trailers.

Generally, studios/producers "own" the rights to the music that is used in films (they are, in effect, the ones who paid for the music).

Trailers very rarely use the actual music from the film being previewed, because in 99.99% of cases, the music hasn't been written yet, or is barely off the drawing board. (film scores are quite regularly tossed off in a matter of weeks, exceptionally months, and EXCEEDINGLY exceptionally, for Lord of the Rings, MANY months or even years).

So the people who create trailers try to find music that is in the studio archives which matches the advertising angle they are using for their film.

Notice, for example, how often the music to Cocoon (James Horner) comes around for scenes that are meant to be grandiose and "mystical".

Very few Hollywood composers retain absolute control over the music they write for film productions. I think you could probably count them on the fingers of one hand.