Sound Verdict https://therecordverdict.com Music reviews with production notes — and the science of why records feel the way they do. en Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Timbre, mood and why a record lands https://therecordverdict.com/why-music-works/ https://therecordverdict.com/why-music-works/ Music perception research on timbre, mood induction and auditory-motor synchronisation — the mechanisms behind the response. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer What streaming recommendation does to what you hear https://therecordverdict.com/streaming/ https://therecordverdict.com/streaming/ Research on music recommender systems, diversity, and the taxonomies streaming platforms impose on listening. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Music as an intervention: what the trials show https://therecordverdict.com/music-and-health/ https://therecordverdict.com/music-and-health/ Cochrane and meta-analytic evidence for music in insomnia, exercise performance, psychological outcomes and clinical settings. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer How we review records https://therecordverdict.com/how-we-review/ https://therecordverdict.com/how-we-review/ What our scores mean, what we try to describe, and why we publish the criteria. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer About Sound Verdict https://therecordverdict.com/about/ https://therecordverdict.com/about/ Who publishes Sound Verdict, how pages are researched, and how the site makes money. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Editorial policy https://therecordverdict.com/editorial-policy/ https://therecordverdict.com/editorial-policy/ How Sound Verdict selects evidence, scores products and handles conflicts of interest. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Affiliate and partnership disclosure https://therecordverdict.com/disclosure/ https://therecordverdict.com/disclosure/ Every commercial relationship that could affect what you read on Sound Verdict. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Privacy https://therecordverdict.com/privacy/ https://therecordverdict.com/privacy/ What Sound Verdict collects — which is close to nothing. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Research digest, 28 September 2026 https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-09-28/ https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-09-28/ 21 newly indexed peer-reviewed papers relevant to Sound Verdict, from 28 September 2026. Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Research digest, 21 September 2026 https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-09-21/ https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-09-21/ 3 newly indexed peer-reviewed papers relevant to Sound Verdict, from 21 September 2026. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Research digest, 14 September 2026 https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-09-14/ https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-09-14/ 1 newly indexed peer-reviewed papers relevant to Sound Verdict, from 14 September 2026. Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Research digest, 7 September 2026 https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-09-07/ https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-09-07/ 12 newly indexed peer-reviewed papers relevant to Sound Verdict, from 7 September 2026. Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Research digest, 8 August 2026 https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-08-08/ https://therecordverdict.com/research/2026-08-08/ 1 newly indexed peer-reviewed papers relevant to Sound Verdict, from 8 August 2026. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Music sleep: what the evidence base looks like https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/music-sleep/ https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/music-sleep/ 14 publications on music sleep — how many trials, how much synthesis, how recent, and what that means. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Music exercise: what the evidence base looks like https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/music-exercise/ https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/music-exercise/ 21 publications on music exercise — how many trials, how much synthesis, how recent, and what that means. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Music health: what the evidence base looks like https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/music-health/ https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/music-health/ 21 publications on music health — how many trials, how much synthesis, how recent, and what that means. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Music preference: what the evidence base looks like https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/music-preference/ https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/music-preference/ 18 publications on music preference — how many trials, how much synthesis, how recent, and what that means. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Recommendation: what the evidence base looks like https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/xr-recommendation/ https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/xr-recommendation/ 13 publications on recommendation — how many trials, how much synthesis, how recent, and what that means. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Streaming behaviour: what the evidence base looks like https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/streaming-behaviour/ https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/streaming-behaviour/ 6 publications on streaming behaviour — how many trials, how much synthesis, how recent, and what that means. Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Music perception: what the evidence base looks like https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/xr-music-perception/ https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/xr-music-perception/ 13 publications on music perception — how many trials, how much synthesis, how recent, and what that means. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Popular music: what the evidence base looks like https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/xr-popular-music/ https://therecordverdict.com/evidence/xr-popular-music/ 10 publications on popular music — how many trials, how much synthesis, how recent, and what that means. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Does music improve your workout? https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/music-and-exercise/ https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/music-and-exercise/ Well supported. One of the better-supported effects of music, working mainly by changing how hard the effort feels. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Does classical music make you smarter? https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/mozart-effect/ https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/mozart-effect/ Not supported. The most famous claim about music and cognition, and one that replication comprehensively failed to support. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Does music help you sleep? https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/music-for-sleep/ https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/music-for-sleep/ Promising but unsettled. Reasonable evidence for improved subjective sleep quality, mostly in people who sleep poorly. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Do streaming algorithms narrow your taste? https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/streaming-and-taste/ https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/streaming-and-taste/ Thin evidence. Plausible, actively debated, and hard to study from outside the platforms. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer Why does sad music feel good? https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/sad-music/ https://therecordverdict.com/does-it-work/sad-music/ Promising but unsettled. A well-documented paradox with several competing explanations and no settled winner. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer What your taste in music actually says about you https://therecordverdict.com/music-and-identity/ https://therecordverdict.com/music-and-identity/ Does your taste in music reveal your personality or mental health? What the systematic reviews and mood studies actually found, and what they did not. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT Stéphane Sprauer