Meaning & use
Needle Drop
Last updated
The use of a pre-existing, previously recorded song placed directly into a film, TV show, or video game rather than composing an original score.
See it in a sentence
The director chose a needle drop of a 1970s soul track for the getaway scene instead of an original score.
Licensing a needle drop can be more expensive than commissioning new music, but it instantly signals a specific era.
A note on using this word
The term comes from literally dropping a phonograph needle onto a record to cue a specific song during early film and radio production.
Words with a similar meaning
song placementmusic cue
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