Universal Music Group Wants in on Wellness

Universal Music Group Wants in on Wellness Kristen Fedeli

If music is medicine, Universal Music Group wants to be the pharmacy.

For the record… Capitalizing on its catalog, the multinational music company has benefited from the digital and connected fitness boom, supplying the soundtrack to popular platforms like Peloton, Supernatural, Y7 Studio, and many others.

But now, as health evolves beyond the physical, UMG is eyeing opportunities in the $7T wellness industry.

Turn it up. Beyond improving workout performance, research has shown music’s therapeutic value across mental health, sleep, and chronic conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and anxiety disorders.

Taking notice, UMG recently announced Sollos, its own music-centric wellness app designed to improve cognitive function, relaxation, and sleep.

This move coincides with its growing focus on music-as-medicine.

• Digital therapeutics upstart soundBrilliance is licensing UMG’s catalog for clinical trials exploring emotional balance, pain control, and improved fitness.
• AI-enabled sound wellness company Endel teamed with UMG to help its artists turn their music into functional soundscapes for focus, sleep, and relaxation.
• MedRhythms, a neuro-rehab platform for sufferers of TBI, stroke, and cognitive disease, syncs UMG recordings and motion-tracking wearables to help patients walk again.

Bringing it all together, UMG co-hosted the inaugural MUSIC + HEALTH conference last week. Teaming with Arianna Huffington’s B2B behavioral change company Thrive Global, the event centered on music’s impact on everyday health.

Of note, Thrive Global’s latest product “Reset” licenses UMG music for 60-second stress-reducing exercises.

Punchline: As AI advances, so too will music’s precision therapeutic use. But with humans wired to derive pleasure from their favorite tracks, most won’t need a reminder to take their medicine.