Experiencing liveness from recorded music

Live gatherings, such as music concerts, football matches, or watching films in the cinema, underpin culture and are inherently social events. Here, we test if an illusory experience of social liveness can be induced artificially by adding audience reactions to music recordings. We created a set of musical excerpts mixed with positive, negative, and neutral audience sounds, and collected liking, believability, and familiarity ratings (Study 1, n = 202). Next, we tested if live versus non-live social feedback enhances the listening experience compared to unaltered studio recordings (Study 2, n = 190). Live social feedback boosted the experience of social connection and immersion but did not alter preferences for specific music excerpts, unlike non-live feedback. These findings show how social liveness – the perceived presence of other people – can mimic actual live events, showcasing the importance of social influences for cultural engagement.