As we trudge through the black ooze that is the COVID-19 pandemic, many industries have pivoted and adapted to the “new normal” … or rather, normal. However, the music industry has taken a surprising detour into the wellness space as new technologies such as capturing your biometric data help to create a more personalised approach to providing healing soundscapes to stressed-out listeners.
Wellness’ explosion onto the music scene is a trend that’s only been exasperated by the global pandemic as anxious humans around the world look for new ways to tackle stress and anxiety. A recent study by McGill University found that music-related activities were the number one way people were coping with the strain of the pandemic, with more than five hours a day being dedicated to listening to “feel-good” music to help ease anxiety.
Meditation apps such as Calm and Headspace have also started incorporating music into their offerings as they look to carve a new path for a different kind of label that allows artists to jump into the well-being space.
John Legend has opted to lend his sweet melodic vocals to Headspace as the duo team up to provide original soundtracks that are mindful and relaxing and help sift through the chaos of 2020/2021. The shift comes as the meditation app move away from strictly guided meditations and enter the realm of all things relaxing.
Calm appears to be following suit, with the founder Michael Acton Smith recently stating to the LA Times: “The music industry feels like it’s [at] a really interesting point… It’s a great time to come to artists with creative ideas.”
The pandemic has also birthed the migration of mental health experts onto social media platforms such as TikTok as they share coping strategies, making mental health techniques more accessible.
So, what does the future hold for the music industry? Well, the melding of wellness and music may see album premieres and single releases on the cards as more artists lend their voice and talent to wellness apps.
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Picture: Headspace |Lucas Ottone