The music industry is expanding beyond entertainment into a proper tech play, with major players using the latest software and AI to unlock and market music's functional benefits for daily life. Apple Music and Universal Music Group (UMG) recently unveiled "Sound Therapy", a new collection of audio wellness playlists.
Strategic sound: The feature, now available, offers reimagined tracks from UMG artists blended with specific sound waves to aid focus, relaxation, and sleep. UMG views music's role in health as a key strategic priority with substantial commercial potential. "For years, elevating music’s role in health and well-being has been a strategic priority for UMG," said Michael Nash, UMG’s EVP & Chief Digital Officer. This initiative builds on UMG's numerous ventures into the wellness space, including partnerships for AI-driven functional music and music for dementia care.
Tech-infused tracks: The Sound Therapy collection stems from Sollos, UMG's music-wellness venture, which employs producers, scientists, and audio engineers. It leverages psychoacoustics and UMG's proprietary audio technologies to infuse popular songs with auditory beats like gamma waves for focus or delta waves for sleep. Tracks from artists such as Imagine Dragons and Katy Perry are extended, instrumental, or otherwise reimagined for this purpose.
Wellness market play: Apple is positioning Sound Therapy within its broader ecosystem of health-focused offerings like Apple Watch and HealthKit, tapping into a global wellness market valued at $5.6 trillion in 2022. "Every day, people around the world make Apple Music part of their daily routine, and we’ve seen incredible engagement around our personalized mood playlists," noted Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s co-head. The collaboration works to further establish scientific support for audio's well-being benefits.
Science and caveats: While promoted as "backed by scientific research," both companies clarify that Sound Therapy is designed to support overall well-being and is not intended to treat any medical condition. Apple's own communications use cautious language like "could" or "might" when describing the effects, a point of scrutiny for similar sound-based therapies where research is often debated.