The growth of audio streaming has led to an overlap between the music industry and the practice of mindfulness and meditation, presenting an opportunity that a growing number of companies are seizing.
A few examples: Streaming service Deezer has launched Zen by Deezer, a wellness app that offers music and sounds, guided yoga sessions, breathing exercises and meditation classes. The company revealed earlier this year that it uses AI to generate music and sounds for the app.
Fruits Music, the label-turned-playlist company formerly known as Strange Fruits, last year announced plans to launch an app for meditation sounds and bedtime stories, which it dubbed fruits of sleep.
Additionally, Universal Music Group (UMG) recently entered into “a one-of-a-kind strategic relationship” with generative AI sound wellness startup Endel to create what they call “functional AI-powered music.” and artist-driven”.
According to Endel, so-called functional music (e.g. music for sleeping, running, relaxing, etc.) “represents one of the largest music listening subcategories in the world, encompassing around 15 billion streams per month. on all music platforms.
Even great musicians have gotten into the act; in 2019, Moby gave meditation app Calm a month-long exclusive on its album Long Moods 2.
Today, Ticketmaster owner and live event promoter Live Nation launched a mindfulness app dubbed Mindful Nation, which it says in a press release “seamlessly integrates music into the practice of meditation”.
Live Nation, which is launching the app as part of its commitment to supporting mental health and wellbeing in the music and entertainment industries, says Mindful Nation offers more than 1,000 classes with “special sound beats organized by top producers and independent artists such as Janax Pacha, Mose Musica and Chris IDH.
The app is available on the Apple Store and the premium Mindful Nation Plus costs $4.99.
Classes are searchable by trainer, “vibe” or class length, and include daily and on-demand sessions for mind, sleep, and “everyday life,” Live Nation explains, as well as music playlists featuring featuring artists from around the world. world and in a variety of genres.
British artist Noel Gallagher from Oasis has also lent his support to the new meditation app.
“(E)writing music and albums is a kind of meditation, you have to go into a particular state to do that,” Gallagher said in the press release.
“Music is the gateway to finding that higher place of peace and this platform will allow 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 more people to access mediation in a way that makes sense to them.”
Noel Gallagher
Mindful Nation started primarily as a B2B platform that offered live sessions in an effort to elevate corporate culture, and was developed by Niamh McCarthy, a former artist manager who worked for Madonna and the team. director of U2 at Maverick.
“After experiencing exhaustion on the road, she spent the next chapter of her life studying meditation, breathwork and yoga,” Live Nation explained.
“McCarthy has been on a mission to bring mindfulness and meditation to the music industry and is now seeing a massive breakthrough with the easy-to-use and intuitive Mindful Nation app.”
“The Mindful Nation app brings meditation and music together in a unique way.”
Michael Rapino, Live Nation
“Music is transcendent and has the power to connect and support each other,” McCarthy said in a statement. “Mindful Nation artists are vehicles to this higher source that we bring into people’s daily lives through our meditation classes.”
She added: “We are all totally overwhelmed by the extraordinary amount of data and connectivity that exists in today’s world that we are not equipped to handle. Classes on the Mindful Nation app are like a timeless album, never outdated. Users can continue to consult these resources again and again to sustain themselves through the ups and downs of life. »
Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapino is named in the press release as Mindful Nation’s lead investor, and Hamish Stephenson, founder and chief creative officer of sports and entertainment agency FALSE 9 , is the creative director.
“The Mindful Nation app brings meditation and music together 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 crews in our industry, as well as music fans. .”
Another of the product 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. Mindful Nation artists are vehicles to this higher source that we bring into people’s daily lives through our meditation classes.
Niamh McCarthy, Conscious Nation
The meditation market presents a great opportunity for companies in the music and audio space.
According to a report released last Thursday (June 29) by The Business Research Company, the global meditation market is set to become a $6.6 billion activity in 2023, compared to $5.4 billion in 2022. By 2027, it should be worth $14.6 billionrepresenting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21%.
The meditation app market alone was worth $522.2 million in 2022, and should reach $7.59 billion by 2031, according to InsightAce Analytics. This represents a CAGR of 31% over the next eight years.
“There has been a significant increase in the usage of these mindfulness meditation apps by people of all ages and genders, which, in turn, is driving the growth of the global mindfulness meditation apps market. conscience,” the business intelligence firm said in a report. .
“The growing trend among millennials to adopt a healthy lifestyle has increased the demand for mindfulness meditation apps.”
The music industry around the world
