[5] The reason "California" became the theme to show was because "Josh Schwartz loved the way it worked in a scene in the pilot.

"[6] At other times they watch the episodes' editors cut and pitch song ideas for specific scenes.

Although exact figures are not known, Les Watkins, a music lawyer from Los Angeles, estimated that "a song by an emerging artist could fetch up to $20,000 or $30,000" and this is jointly split between record label and the songwriter/publisher.

[18] Although not strictly playing himself, actor Peter Gallagher (as Sandy Cohen) had previously sung on Broadway and in the episode "The Power of Love" he serenades his wife Kirsten by singing a cover of Solomon Burke's "Don't Give Up on Me" at The Bait Shop.

[19] Other artists to perform at the club that season were The Thrills,[20] Rachael Yamagata,[21] and Death Cab for Cutie.

[22] In the episode "The Return of the Nana", Seth and Ryan visit Miami, and end up at a spring break style party where rapper T.I.

[23] For the third season, The Subways,[24] Tom Vek,[25] and Cobra Verde all made guest appearances performing in The Bait Shop.

[30] Another music premiere was Coldplay's song "Fix You", which debuted on May 12, 2005, in the final scene of the episode in which characters find out Caleb had a fatal heart attack.

was probably the most music-intensive youthful-angst series in TV history, displaying a keen-eared knack for picking hip new acts early in the game."

The New York Times described Schwartz as "the Shiva of contemporary music"[34] and IGN described Patsavas as a "consummate tastemaker" for the show.

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.

[10] Additionally, fans and critics have stated that such appearances and mass marketing techniques are creating sell-outs.

[10] 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".

cover of "Forever Young" [the song] registered more than 5,000 iTunes downloads its first week"[11] 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.".

"[47] The series was "responsible for 7 Days in Memphis, the debut solo album from Peter Gallagher"[48] as well as "help[ing] launch The Killers to mass mainstream success"[49] The O.C.

released six official soundtracks: Patsavas, who was involved in selecting tracks the mixes, described the CDs as "not only a stand-alone piece but also as a companion to the show.