History Main / PublisherChosenTitle

* Archie Goodwin, a higher-up at Creator/DCComics, came up with the title ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' for the classic Franchise/{{Batman}} miniseries.
* The title of ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' supposedly came down from the publishers, and gave Creator/AlanMoore and David Lloyd a new impetus in crafting the graphic novel.

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'' and ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' (both titles chosen by their Japanese developer [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]]) were re-dubbed "Ace Combat: Distant Thunder" and "Ace Combat: Squadron Leader" [[MarketBasedTitle in the PAL regions]].

* ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburV'' director Daishi Odashima said he intended to name the game "''Soul Edge II''", indicative of its SoftReboot status within the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries''. However, Namco wouldn't have it and insisted he continued using the ''Soulcalibur'' name. With ''Calibur''[='s=] [[SequelDisplacement widespread recognition eclipsing the popularity of the original game]], calling [[VideoGameLongRunners the sixth installment of the series]] that without the subtitle of "''Soulcalibur V''" would've been somewhat silly.

* Creator/{{Bungie}} originally intended their first UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} FirstPersonShooter to have the OneWordTitle ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''. However, marketers at Microsoft felt that "Halo" alone was not sufficient to convey the game's military theme, so they added a subtitle and the game was ultimately released as ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved''.

* Stephenie Meyer's original name for ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' was ''Forks''. Her agent made her change it, and most people would probably agree with her that ''Forks'' is not a great name for a paranormal romance.

->'''Meg:''' You wrote an article about me?
->'''Brian:''' They wanted a story about a typical teenage girl.
->'''Meg:''' ''[opens magazine]'' Is it ''A Fistful of Bacne: Tale of a Teenage Loser''?
->'''Brian:''' Yeah, they make the title.
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', "Dial Meg for Murder"

* Creator/BarryEisler found himself stuck with various rain-pun titles in his series about hitman John Rain. Then the books had titles based around the word "assassin" whether or not they fit what was in the book. He's now had them re-released with his own titles.

* Music/WeirdAlYankovic was forced by lawyers to name his ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies''-themed "[[Music/DireStraits Money for Nothing]]" parody "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*", exactly as written (slash and asterisk included), a decision Al has expressed his ''extreme'' displeasure with. (For that matter, this also applies to the movie the parody was written for, ''Film/{{UHF}}'', which had the title ''The Vidiot from UHF'' forced on it for certain international markets. Al wasn't happy about that one, either.)

* When it was submitted for publishing, Fujino Omori sent ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'' under the more neutral title ''Familia Myth''. His editor instead went with the title the story had as a webnovel.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' was descended from a similarly warped gag comic called ''Nature's Way''. Gary Larson didn't mind the change at all - "They could have called it ''[[WordSaladTitle Revenge of the Zucchini People]]'' for all I cared".
* Newspaper publisher Joseph Patterson was famous for his "hands-on" management of comic strips, including choosing the titles such as ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' and ''Terry and the Pirates''. One story is that Milton Caniff was a bit baffled when Patterson chose this latter for the title of his new comic strip, because initially, he hadn't planned to include any character named "Terry", and also hadn't planned to include any pirates.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' was named by the syndicate. Charles M. Schulz ''hated'' the name. Given that his choice was ''ComicStrip/LilFolks'', the Syndicate clearly did him a favor, even if he didn't appreciate it. "Peanuts" is a WordSaladTitle (despite being only one word). Someone at the syndicate was under the impression that it was another word for "kids", because of the term "peanut gallery".
[[/folder]]

* The albums ''Music/{{Paranoid{{'' and ''Vol. 4'' by Music/BlackSabbath were originally called ''War Pigs'' and ''Snowblind'' respectively. The record company changed the name of both before releasing them, the first to avoid offending people involved in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and to capitalise on the single's popularity, and the second because of the drug reference.

* Music/DavidBowie's third album, ''Music/TheManWhoSoldTheWorld'', was recorded under the name ''Metrobolist'' (a reference ot the film ''Film/{{Metropolis}}''), which was kept so late into production that it's still listed on the master tapes; Creator/MercuryRecords changed it to the final title at the last minute without Bowie's permission. Bowie then attempted to retitle the album ''Holy Holy'' in the UK[[note]]the album was released [[ShortRunInPeru a year early]] in the US[[/note]] after a non-album single he put out at around the same time, only for Mercury to call it ''The Man Who Sold The World'' there too when the single flopped. Eventually, the ''Metrobolist'' title would be restored for the album's 50th anniversary remix in 2020.

* Music/DavidBowie's third album, ''Music/TheManWhoSoldTheWorld'', was recorded under the name ''Metrobolist'', which was kept so late into production that it's still listed on the master tapes; Creator/MercuryRecords changed it to the final title without Bowie's permission. Bowie then attempted to retitle the album ''Holy Holy'' after a non-album single he put out at around the same time, only for Mercury to call it ''The Man Who Sold The World'' there too when the single flopped. Eventually, the ''Metrobolist'' title would be restored for the album's 50th anniversary remix in 2020.

* The albums ''Paranoid'' and ''Vol. 4'' by Music/BlackSabbath were originally called ''War Pigs'' and ''Snowblind'' respectively. The record company changed the name of both before releasing them, the first to avoid offending people involved in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and to capitalise on the single's popularity, and the second because of the drug reference.

* ''Magazine/{{Analog}}'': In the [[Recap/Analog1941 April 1941 issue]]'s "In Times To Come" column, the Chief Editor explains that one of the next month's stories, [[Creator/RobertAHeinlein Anson MacDonald]]'s "Literature/SolutionUnsatisfactory", was [[WorkingTitle originally submitted]] as "Foriegn Policy".

* ''Magazine/{{Analog}}'': [Invoked] {{In|Universe}} the [[Recap/Analog1941 April 1941 issue]]'s "In Times To Come" column, the Chief Editor explains that one of the next month's stories, [[Creator/RobertAHeinlein Anson MacDonald]]'s "Literature/SolutionUnsatisfactory", was [[WorkingTitle originally submitted]] as "Foriegn Policy".

[[folder:Film]]

* The title of ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' supposedly came down from the publishers, and gave Moore and Lloyd a new impetus in crafting the graphic novel.
* Archie Goodwin, a higher-up at DC Comics, came up with the title ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' for the classic Batman miniseries.

* The names of the volumes of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' were not chosen by Tolkien. Tolkien never even wanted it to be a trilogy. It was originally envisioned as a six book series. Supposedly the book was broken up into three volumes because, in the early 1950s, Britain had not sufficiently recovered from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII paper rationing to publish the whole thing at once. Thus LOTR being the TropeMaker for the whole modern idea of a "trilogy" is entirely accidental.

** "{{Literature/Strikebreaker}}": His own opinion for 'worst publisher title change'. Originally published with the publisher-chosen title of "Male Strikebreaker". (Swapping random character's genders would in no way affect the story.)

* Donald Wollheim of Ace Books was notorious for changing titles he didn't think were "science fictional" enough, usually into something really pulpy and juvenile. A joke usually attributed to Terry Carr was that if Ace under Wollheim were ever to put out a copy of the Bible, it would be a double-sided cover called "War God of Israel" [[note]]Or possibly "Master of Chaos"[[/note]] and "The Thing with Three Souls."
* Creator/FrederikPohl, then the editor of ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' magazine, thought that most of Creator/CordwainerSmith's original titles were bland. His solution was to take new titles from the text, e.g. "Think Blue, Count Two". The technique worked very well, and Smith didn't change any of the titles back.
* And then, of course, there's ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'', a CulturalTranslation for the American market - it has the original name, ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', in most of the rest of the world. Supposedly the idea was more "American children would be scared off by the term 'philosophy'" than "Americans wouldn't understand what the title meant." However, it's not like Rowling expected children to get the alchemical reference, as it's clearly spelled out in the text.

* Creator/PhilipKDick is an odd case; for the most part, the titles of his stories remained untouched, but the names were often changed when they were adapted; for example, the short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" became the film ''Film/{{Total Recall|1990}}'', while "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" became ''Film/BladeRunner''. He admitted, though, that even he didn't think the original titles were very good.
** Dick is perhaps a very strong aversion of this, given his oft-noted penchant for seemingly-[[WordSaladTitle Word Salad Titles]] that tell one [[NonIndicativeName nothing about the story itself]].

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' titles were all publisher chosen.
* Creator/BarryEisler found himself stuck with various rain-pun titles in his series about hitman John Rain. Then the books had titles based around the word 'assassin' whether or not they fit what was in the book. He's now had them re-released with his own titles.
* Justified with Toni L.P. Kelner's ''Where Are They Now?'' mystery series. The original book was released in hardcover by one publishing company under the title ''Without Mercy'', but when Kelner switched publishers to Berkley Prime Crime for the paperback reprint and sequels, they'd recently published a different book under that name and, to avoid confusion, retitled Kelner's book to ''Curse of the Kissing Cousins''. (Which actually makes sense as in-universe, it's also the title of an article the main character wrote, referring to how two of the stars of the long-ended show "Kissing Cousins" have suffered fatal accidents recently.)

* ''{{Magazine/Analog}}'': [Invoked] {{In|Universe}} the [[Recap/Analog1941 April 1941 issue]]'s "In Times To Come" column, the Chief Editor explains that one of the next month's stories, [[Creator/RobertAHeinlein Anson MacDonald]]'s "Literature/SolutionUnsatisfactory", was [[WorkingTitle originally submitted]] as "Foriegn Policy".

* The albums ''Paranoid'' and ''Vol 4'' by Music/BlackSabbath were originally called ''War Pigs'' and ''Snowblind'' respectively. The record company changed the name of both before releasing them, the first to avoid offending people involved in the Vietnam War and to capitalise on the single's popularity, and the second because of the drug reference.

* Singer-songwriter Music/VanessaCarlton faced this with her debut single. She wanted to name the song "Interlude," as it had appeared on her demo tape. However, the president of her record label at the time, who also produced the song, refused to release it under that name due to its NonAppearingTitle. His nephew suggested a new title: "A Thousand Miles." The result? A #1 hit on the pop and adult contemporary charts, a platinum-certified debut album, and the single becoming of the biggest radio hits of the 2000s.
* Music/WeirdAlYankovic was forced by lawyers to name his ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies''-themed "[[Music/DireStraits Money for Nothing]]" parody "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*", exactly as written (slash and asterisk included), a decision Al has expressed his ''extreme'' displeasure with. (For that matter, this also applies to the movie the parody was written for, ''Film/{{UHF}}'', which had the title ''The Vidiot from UHF'' forced on it for certain international markets. Al wasn't happy about that one, either.)
* ''Tenement Symphony'', the title of Marc Almond's 1991 album, was chosen by his then current record company, who also chose the overall look of the album. At the time, Marc was physically and emotionally exhausted following difficulties during the recording of his previous album, ''Enchanted'', and did not raise any objections, though he did later say he felt like "a guest on his own record".

* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' was named by the syndicate. Charles M. Schulz ''hated'' the name. Given that his choice was ''ComicStrip/LilFolks'', the Syndicate clearly did him a favor, even if he didn't appreciate it. "Peanuts" is a WordSaladTitle (despite being only one word). Someone at the syndicate was under the impression that it was another word for "kids", because of the term "peanut gallery".

* Daishi Odashima said he intended to name ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur V]] '' "''Soul Edge II''". However, Namco wouldn't have it and insisted he continues using the ''Soulcalibur'' name. With ''Calibur''[='s=] [[SequelDisplacement widespread recognition eclipsing the popularity of the original game]], calling the sixth installment of [[VideoGameLongRunners the series]] that without the subtitle of "''Soulcalibur V''" would've been somewhat silly.
* ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'' and ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' (both titles chosen by their Japanese developer Namco) were re-dubbed "Ace Combat: Distant Thunder" and "Ace Combat: Squadron Leader" in the PAL regions.

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Film]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Music]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]

[[folder: Theatre]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'' and ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' (both titles chosen by their Japanese developer Namco) were re-dubbed "Ace Combat: Distant Thunder" and "Ace Combat: Squadron Leader" in the PAL regions. The numbers were filed off to conceal the existence of ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere'' (it wasn't shipped to Europe).

[[folder: Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' was named by the syndicate. Charles M. Schulz ''hated'' the name. Given that his choice was ''ComicStrip/LilFolks'', the Syndicate clearly did him a favor, even if he didn't appreciate it. "Peanuts" is a WordSaladTitle (despite being only one word). Someone at the syndicate was under the impression that it was another word for "kids", because of the term "peanut gallery".
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' was descended from a similarly warped gag comic called ''Nature's Way''. Gary Larson didn't mind the change at all - "They could have called it ''[[WordSaladTitle Revenge of the Zucchini People]]'' for all I cared".
* Newspaper publisher Joseph Patterson was famous for his "hands-on" management of comic strips, including choosing the titles such as ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' and ''Terry and the Pirates''. One story is that Milton Caniff was a bit baffled when Patterson chose this latter for the title of his new comic strip, because initially, he hadn't planned to include any character named "Terry", and also hadn't planned to include any pirates.

* Creator/AynRand titled her first play ''Penthouse Legend'', but producers first renamed it ''Woman on Trial'' and then ''Night of January 16th''.

* RedHotChiliPeppers have two examples from their early career. "Blowjob Park" and "Party On Your Pussy" were retitled "Battleship" and "Special Secret Song Inside" respectively.

[[folder: Other]]
* This is general practice in news magazines. The writer writes the text but has absolutely no control over the article's actual title, or the pictures that accompany it and their placement, which are all decided by the editor. This leads to the occasional instance where an editor who is CompletelyMissingThePoint gives an article a misleading, inappropriate title or images which completely undermine the actual writing. {{Website/Cracked}} is often guilty of this, and nearly every article that does this will have it pointed out.
[[/folder]]

->'''Meg:''' ''(opens magazine)'' Is it ''A Fistful of Bacne: Tale of a Teenage Loser''?

** One positive example was the editor who, without asking, changed the title of "It Pays" to "Buy Jupiter". Asimov cheerfully admitted the change was a vast improvement, and even used it as the title for the paperback collection the story was later included in.