The growth of audio streaming has led to an overlap between the music business and the practice of mindfulness and meditation which presents an opportunity that a growing number of businesses are seizing.
A few examples: Streaming service Deezer has launched Zen by Deezer, a wellbeing app that features music and sounds, guided Yoga sessions, breathing exercises and meditation classes. The company revealed earlier this year that it is using AI to generate music and sounds for the app.
Fruits Music, the label-turned-playlist company formerly known as Strange Fruits, announced plans last year to release an app for meditation sounds and bedtime stories, which it dubbed Sleep Fruits.
Plus, Universal Music Group (UMG) recently entered into “a first-of-its-kind strategic relationship” with generative AI sound wellness startup Endel to create what they call “AI-powered, artist-driven functional music”.
According to Endel, so-called functional music (e.g. music for sleep, running, relaxation etc) “represents one of the largest sub-categories of music listening worldwide, encompassing an estimated 15 billion streams a month across all music platforms”.
Even major musicians have gotten in on the act; in 2019, Moby gave meditation app Calm a month-long exclusive on his album Long Ambients 2.
Now Ticketmaster owner and live events promoter Live Nation has launched a mindfulness app Dubbed Mindful Nation, which it claims in a press release “seamlessly incorporates music into the practice of meditation”.
Live Nation, which casts the app as part of its commitment to supporting mental health and wellness across the music and entertainment industries, says Mindful Nation offers more than 1,000 classes with “special sonic beats” curated by prominent producers and independent artists such as Janax Pacha, Mose Musica and Chris IDH.
The app is available through the Apple Store, and the premium Mindful Nation Plus costs $4.99.
The classes are searchable by trainer, ‘vibe’ or class duration, and include daily and on-demand sessions for mind, sleep and “day-to-day life,” Live Nation says, as well as music playlists featuring artists from around the world and in a variety of genres.
British artist Noel Gallagher of Oasis has also given his support to the new meditation app.
“[W]riting music and albums is one kind of meditation, you have to go into a particular state to do it,” Gallagher is quoted in the press release is saying.
“Music is the gateway to finding that higher place of peace and this platform will allow for more people to access mediation in a way that makes sense to them. [Mindful Nation is] really cool.”
“Music is the gateway to finding that higher place of peace and this platform will allow for more people to access mediation in a way that makes sense to them.”
Noel Gallagher
Mindful Nation began primarily as a B2B platform that delivered live sessions in an effort to elevate corporate culture, and was developed by Niamh McCarthy, a former artist manager who worked for Madonna and U2’s management team at Maverick.
“After experiencing burnout on the road, she spent the next chapter of her life studying meditation, breathwork, and yoga,” Live Nation explained.
“McCarthy has made it her mission to bring mindfulness and meditation to the music business and now sees a massive breakthrough with the easy-to-use and intuitive Mindful Nation app.”
“The Mindful Nation app brings together meditation and music in a unique way.”
Michael Rapino, Live Nation
“Music is transcendent and has the power to connect and support,” McCarthy said in a statement. “The artists on Mindful Nation are vehicles to that higher source which we are bringing into people’s everyday lives through our meditation classes.”
She added: “We are all totally overstimulated by the extraordinary amount of data and connectivity that exists in today’s world that we are not equipped to deal with. The classes on the Mindful Nation app are like a timeless album, never out of date. Users can keep going back to these resources again and again to support themselves through the highs and lows of life.”
Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapino is named in the press release as Mindful Nation’s principal investor, and Hamish Stephenson, Founder and Creative Director of sports and entertainment agency FALSE 9, is its Chief Creative Officer.
“The Mindful Nation app brings together meditation and music in a unique way,” Rapino said. “We first launched Mindful Nation as a program for our employees, and it’s great to see Niamh now bringing the benefits of mindfulness to touring artists and crew across our industry, as well as music fans.”
Another of the product’s boosters is magician and illusionist David Blaine.
“Niamh has created a wonderful way to be reminded daily of those simple things that are most important,” Blaine said.
“Music is transcendent and has the power to connect and support. The artists on Mindful Nation are vehicles to that higher source which we are bringing into people’s everyday lives through our meditation classes.”
Niamh McCarthy, Mindful Nation
The meditation market presents a large opportunity for business in the music and audio field.
According to a report released last Thursday (June 29) by The Business Research Company, the global meditation market is set to grow to be a $6.6-billion business in 2023, up from $5.4 billion in 2022. By 2027, it’s expected to be worth $14.6 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21%.
The market for meditation apps alone was worth $522.2 million in 2022, and is set to grow to $7.59 billion by 2031, according to InsightAce Analytic. That represents a CAGR of 31% over the next eight years.
“There has been a prominent increase in the usage of these mindfulness meditation apps by people of all ages and gender, which is, in turn, driving the growth of the global market for mindfulness meditation apps,” the business intelligence company said in a report.
“The growing trend among millennials toward a healthy lifestyle has increased the demand for mindfulness meditation apps.”
Music Business Worldwide
