Following his debut into the world of Hollywood film, Copland quickly received recognition and praise for his innovations within the industry. Film reviews and articles from 1940 onward reveal Copland's strong influence on the demands of critics, film composers, and moviegoers alike. In a 1946 article titled “Film Music, Color or Line” from Hollywood Quarterly, author Robert U. Nelson called for a move away from traditional Hollywood scoring toward a linear, pure sound similar to that of Copland. Nelson had a serious problem with “the monotonous smoothness and thickness of sounds … with too much reliance on complex chords and thirds.” He suggested that to remedy this, the “thickness needs greater variety—mixed timbres need to be enlivened by pure color, thick textures must be opposed by more linear passages” again advocating adoption of Copland's polytonal techniques. As direct summaries of Copland's compositional style, Nelson's comments are merely a few suggesting Copland's overarching influence on Hollywood film music.

In a similar article titled “Music and the Feature Film” in The Musical Quarterly (1947), Frederick Sternfeld commented on one of Copland's compositional approaches:

Sternfeld's position on Copland's importance only intensified through the years. In a subsequent article “Copland as a Film Composer,” also from The Musical Quarterly (1951), Sternfeld commented directly on the public's reception of Copland's approach, writing, “This recognition of popular and functional demands [of film music], coupled with the integrity of his esthetics and craftsmanship, have won for Copland's film scores the rare distinction of approval both by his fellow composers in the East and his Hollywood Associates.” Speaking specifically about Copland's score for The Heiress, Sternfeld further explained, “The Academy Award for the score of The Heiress makes it clear that acclaim of the world's film center does not depend on an excess of emotional and instrumental lushness.