A soundtrack placement can still introduce a song to millions of listeners at once, but the path from scene to viral hit has become more complicated.
The most successful songs tend to have a moment that can be isolated without losing all of its emotional charge. Viewers clip the scene, identify the track and then carry it into a completely different context.
Why it matters
That means music supervisors are thinking about narrative fit first while audiences decide what happens next. A song chosen for one precise scene can end up attached to thousands of unrelated videos.
The surprise is part of the appeal: old songs can return, new artists can break through and a quiet background cue can become the loudest thing about a show.