“Twilight” Soundtrack Sells Big, Boosts Baby Acts

With the latest installment of the Twilight saga coming to theaters Nov. 18, it’s interesting to look at the popularity of the movies’ soundtracks.

To date, the three previous Twilight film soundtracks have sold a combined five million copies in the U.S. Thanks to the rabid built-in fan base, this is significantly higher than the average soundtrack sales tally.

Rolling Stone spoke to revered music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, who has overseen all of the Twilight films, and loves to use them to give new artists a boost. The albums are noted for breaking new musical acts or giving more established artists upward momentum. A previous soundtrack helped propel Nashville rockers Paramore, for example.

Another Nashville-area band The Features are on the latest installment, with tune “From Now On.” Among others on the Breaking Dawn soundtrack are the Belle Brigade, Bruno Mars, Theophilus London, and Iron and Wine.

Some acts are reluctant to have their music attached to a film. Particularly Bon Iver, who almost bowed out of the previous Twilight offering. However, he eventually conceded, in an effort to expand his fanbase.