Ongoing History Daily: Operating room music
We’ve all seen TV shows featuring surgeons performing delicate procedures while music is playing in the operating room. Music keeps things calm, keeps the pace up, and helps everyone to stay awake during those long procedures. But what kind of music is best for this kind of work?
In June 2026, Spotify surveyed about 700 surgeons and healthcare pros in over 50 countries about their operating room playlist preferences. In addition to discovering that 90% of surgeons like music whilst they operate and 89% of them preferred playlists over listening to albums, they came up with a ranking of genre favourites. Rock finished in first place, followed closely by pop. Then came classical, jazz and hip hop. If you’re an anesthesiologist, though, there’s a 59% chance you prefer pop.
