Question

What is the difference between a score and a soundtrack?

Answer 1

The score is the music specifically composed for the film. It's the music that sets the tone without lyrics. Think of the famous Star Wars theme by John Williams. The soundtrack includes music that was not originally intended for the film but was licensed to enhance it. Usually these are popular music tracks added to films to make them connect on a pop culture level. If you saw Almost Famous it has a ton of amazing songs from the '60's and '70s but the film was made in 2000. Those songs set the tone for the film and took us back to that era. To keep them straight just remember that the full soundtrack can include the score but the score does not include the soundtrack.