Influence of a continuous affect ratings task on listening time for unfamiliar art music

Abstract

We aim to increase user engagement in unfamiliar music. We investigated listening duration for 100 unfamiliar art music items from the Australian Music Centre (AMC) library, presented under four different exposure conditions: a continuous affect response task, text/photographic information, text only, and no information. Participants could skip each item, and provided post-excerpt liking or familiarity ratings. Time-series analysis models of listening duration, liking, and familiarity, showed no increase in successive item liking or familiarity, although user liking and familiarity, positively predicted listening duration. The data confirm that directing listeners’ attention to discerning affect can enhance their engagement with unfamiliar music.