Music On The O.C. - Artist Promotion

Artist Promotion

Throughout the show, Death Cab for Cutie have "occupied a minor role on The O.C. as Seth Cohen's favorite band." Amy Phillips of Willamette Week described the band, within the context of the show, as follows. "Death Cab for Cutie is Seth Cohen's favorite band. He's got a Death Cab poster on his bedroom wall, plays Death Cab music in the car, gives Death Cab CDs to girls he likes." She also added at the time that "the more popular the character has become, the more fans the band has gained". Talking about their exposure on the show, Death Cab bass player Nick Harmer said that "there's really no other shows on television right now, other than 'The O.C.' that's really kind of showcasing bands in such a straightforward way." In 2004, the band's exposure on the show helped them get signed to Atlantic Records.

Hamilton Leithauser vocalist for The Walkmen said he considered "television performances as a solid, if ephemeral, means of promotion", but not all bands were eager to release their music for television shows. James Mercer, frontman for The Shins noted "that artists lose creative control" in the way that a song is interpreted, when the music is set to a particular scene. Additionally, fans and critics have stated that such appearances and mass marketing techniques are creating sell-outs. Indie band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were asked to perform on the show, but they turned it down because they were worried that it could diminish their credibility. Frontman Alec Ounsworth said "I don't like the idea of being overexposed", adding that it was analogous to the fact that "Vincent van Gogh never sold a painting, and he was perfectly content".

However, it was a successful method of promotion. Rooney experienced a "200 percent increase in sales" after being featured on the show. When "Youth Group, recorded a just-for-The-O.C. cover of "Forever Young" registered more than 5,000 iTunes downloads its first week" The Daily Telegraph stated that indie duo Viva Voce had "their profile sent through the roof with a guest slot on the soundtrack to teens-in-trouble TV drama The O.C.". Imogen Heap became "a household name stateside" after being featured on the show and commented that she "was all over the message boards and in blogs. Those who hadn't watched the show heard about it and checked me out. It really was quite incredible to watch it unfolding. The sales off of iTunes went crazy!" The series was "responsible for 7 Days in Memphis, the debut solo album from Peter Gallagher" as well as "help launch The Killers to mass mainstream success"