Abstract

Museums are increasingly using digital and multisensory tools to engage visitors. The curation of a digital music playlist to accompany an exhibition, often meant for consumption with visitors’ personal devices and headphones, is one such practice. This article describes the recent state of implementation of digital music playlists, specifically those on the streaming service Spotify, for museum and gallery exhibitions. I collected various examples of museums offering Spotify playlists to accompany exhibitions, and I feature three of the most interesting ones as case studies in this article. I discuss and evaluate the playlists as audience engagement tools and with reference to the concept of the “post-museum” that values “edutainment.” Ultimately, I argue that Spotify exhibition playlists, although novel, are an example of fairly conventional museum engagement practices; the constraints of the Spotify interface prevent active responses from listeners, and the playlists are not often presented with curator self-reflexivity. I conclude by offering suggestions and best practices for museums considering implementing digital music playlists. This project is just one part of my larger, ongoing research work, focusing on sound and music in museum exhibitions.