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Sonic branding for museums
Sonic branding for museums gives a museum a sound people recognize, from the trailer for a new exhibition to the audio tour and the late openings. Each exhibition can sound different while the trailers and tours share a few notes.
- For
- Museums, galleries, and cultural venues
- Museum work
- Fabrique des Lumières × Mauritshuis
- Where it plays
- Trailers, audio tours, rooms, events, and more
Fabrique des Lumières is Amsterdam's digital art center.
Some ways a museum can use music
Sometimes the exhibition surrounds the visitor
Some exhibitions are projected on every wall, and then the music has to come from every side. For Fabrique des Lumières and the Mauritshuis, the museum in The Hague that owns Girl with a Pearl Earring, we made the music and a 360-degree mix for a projection of the painting. The artworks move from classic to experimental, so the music moves from classical piano to electronic.
Your exhibition designers lead the project
The Girl with a Pearl Earring projection was a project with AddiktSchbang, an Amsterdam design agency that made the visuals. We worked from their images and the order of the artworks. For sound across a whole exhibition, see our sound design for exhibitions.
One exhibition to start with
A single exhibition is a good first project, with a fixed opening date and one space to compose for. Its theme can come back in later trailers.
Other plans
We can also write music for a children's route through the rooms or a podcast about the collection. Tell us about your plans.
More of our work
Work for and contributions to projects involving these brands.
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Fabrique des Lumières × Mauritshuis Girl with a Pearl Earring in 360-degree sound View case
- Xpeng Music for a virtual flight over Shanghai View case
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Cinema in Concert An orchestral sonic identity for film music played live View case
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The New York Times All music and audio for the 175th anniversary video View case
How it works
Step 1
Send us your brief
The exhibition or the season, the opening date, and the designers you work with. Someone from our team gets back to you with a proposal.
Step 2
A few directions
Short demos for the trailer or the room, to choose from with your designers.
Step 3
Music for where it plays
We write the music in the direction you chose and mix it for the room, the trailer, or the tour.
Step 4
Ready for the opening
Final files in every format you need, for the installers, the audio tour, and your trailers.
Questions about museum sound
What is the best music for a museum?
Music that fits the collection and leaves room to look and talk. A composed track can follow the rooms and come back in your trailers and tours. Hear the Fabrique des Lumières track at the top.
Is sonic branding more than a jingle?
Yes. For a museum it's the few notes that open every trailer, the music in the audio tour, and the sound at your events, all from the same idea. A jingle is just one short piece of that. Ask us for a proposal.
Can a museum have its own soundtrack?
Yes, and some go further: Cooper Hewitt in New York built a whole exhibition, Art of Noise, around design and music, with its own listening room. For your museum we write a main theme from the collection and the building, then a long version for the rooms, a calm one under the audio tour, and a short one for trailers. Send us your next exhibition.
Where can I find music for an art exhibition?
We compose it for the works on the walls and the route visitors take. Tell us what's opening next.