Hi Lisa! I agree with Cindy's comments about finding out what the director is wanting to achieve with music in the galleries. I also wanted to mention the issue of music licensing, which can be complex and challenging and should definitely be brought up with your director. There is a helpful article on the subject on AAM's website: http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/webexclusive/licensing.cfm At my museum, we (quietly) play swing music in one corner of our WWII exhibit to evoke a mood and it seems to go over well with visitors. We don't have a license for it, but since admission to our institution is free, I believe we are technically exempt. Best, -Anna Musun-Miller. Curator Johnson County Museum of History On Thu, Jan 5, 2012 at 11:46 AM, Cindy Boyer <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I don't have galleries so can't comment on personal professional > experience. > > > > But more and more it seems we are losing museums as a place of reflection > and discovery. > > > > I really love music. For that reason, music in a gallery unrelated to the > theme or purpose of the exhibit would be very distracting to me. Music is > powerful - it is never "just background." I can't ignore it - I can't > choose whether or not to hear it. > > > > Do you know why your director wants to have the music? If it's to promote > the regional music, then it deserves a space of its own. Is he/she is > uncomfortable in a quiet atmosphere? Would offering ipods or nanos to loan > with the music on it work? > > > > Would your director consider placing video monitors in the exhibits showing > locally produced videos, or local crafters, or local personalities? That > would certainly be distracting to visually oriented people - it can be the > same for music. > > > > One of the reasons that my husband and I both like to shop at Target is that > they don't play music or make announcements. Makes for a much more peaceful > shopping experience! > > > > Cindy Boyer > > Director of Public Programs > > The Landmark Society of Western New York > > 133 S. Fitzhugh St. > > Rochester NY 14608 > > (585) 546-7029 ext. 12 > > [log in to unmask] > > Fax: (585) 546-4788 > > > > The Landmark Society: Revitalizing Yesterday, Protecting Today, and > Planning for Tomorrow > > > > www.landmarksociety.org > > Confessions of a Preservationist: The Landmark Society blog > > Facebook / MySpace > > > > From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf > Of Lisa Chastain > Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 11:31 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Music in exhibits > > > > Listers, > > > > My director has put to me a request for 'regional music' in all of our > exhibits. Now, as I curator I balked at the idea of breaking themes of my > galleries with random music that has nothing to do with the exhibit ie. A > military exhibit or a doctors exhibit. I was wondering of your opinions > concerning music in galleries/exhibits, do you have music, have you rejected > the idea and why? > > > > Any opinions would be helpful! > > > > Thank you! > > > > Lisa > > Curator of Collections and Exhibits > > > > > > > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).