May 13, 2025
UPDATE
Universal Music Group and Apple Music Unveil Sound Therapy
This groundbreaking collection incorporates cognitive science and UMG’s roster of global superstars, adding subtle auditory elements to familiar tracks, aiming to enhance focus, relaxation, and sleep.
Apple Music has partnered with Universal Music Group (UMG) to launch Sound Therapy, an innovative audio wellness program designed to help listeners achieve focused clarity, deep relaxation, and restorative sleep.1
“For years, enhancing music’s role in health and well-being has been a key focus for UMG, driven by both a significant commercial opportunity and a passion shared by our chairman and CEO, Sir Lucian, and the management team,” stated Michael Nash, UMG’s executive vice president and chief digital officer. “With Apple’s leadership in health and technology, the introduction of Sound Therapy validates our science-driven Sollos initiative. We look forward to collaborating closely with Apple to expand how music can enhance wellness benefits for users.”
“People across the globe incorporate Apple Music into their daily lives, resulting in high engagement with our personalized mood playlists and the new Apple Music Chill radio station,” said Rachel Newman, co-head of Apple Music. “With Sound Therapy, we’re excited to partner with UMG and Sollos to introduce a listening experience that is artistically rooted, innovation-driven, and geared towards wellness.”
Exclusively available on Apple Music, Sound Therapy blends beloved songs with specially designed sound waves to enhance listeners’ everyday experiences while honoring the artist’s original vision. Grounded in scientific research and supported by UMG’s proprietary audio technology, Sound Therapy utilizes sound waves, psychoacoustics, and cognitive science to promote relaxation or heightened focus.
Crafted by a team of producers, scientists, and audio engineers at Sollos, a pioneering music wellness venture within UMG’s London offices, Sound Therapy offers extended and reimagined versions of hits from artists like Imagine Dragons, Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Ludovico Einaudi, AURORA, Jhené Aiko, Chelsea Cutler, and Jeremy Zucker, delivering a premium auditory experience.
Sound Therapy features three categories: Focus, Relax, and Sleep. Each track is enhanced with auditory beats or colored noise to evoke specific brain responses. For instance, gamma waves and white noise may improve focus; theta waves can support relaxation; and delta waves combined with pink noise may facilitate deeper sleep. A soothing rendition of Katy Perry’s “Double Rainbow,” for example, could aid in drifting off, while an Imagine Dragons piece might help tackle tasks. Discover more about Sound Therapy with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.
Apple has long committed to empowering its users to lead healthier, more active lives through initiatives like Apple Watch, HealthKit, and Apple Fitness+. The company will work alongside Sollos and UMG to substantiate the clinical benefits of music and audio for enhanced well-being, finding inclusive ways to share these advantages globally.
Focus Better
The Focus category aims to boost cognitive performance and concentration, utilizing gamma auditory beats to help listeners get into the zone. White noise serves to mask distractions, allowing users to stay present.
Taking Time to Unwind
The Relax category features tracks designed for letting go, enhanced with theta auditory beats to facilitate profound relaxation.
Designed for Restful Sleep
The Sleep category focuses on promoting deeper sleep through delta auditory beats or pink noise, which mimics natural sounds like rain and ocean waves.
Sound Therapy follows the launch of the new Apple Music Chill radio station, created as a tranquil sound space for listeners to escape throughout their day. The station offers a continuous flow of relaxing music across genres, interspersed with moments intended to encourage mindfulness and serenity. Enjoy the soothing voices of tastemakers like Brian Eno, Stephan Moccio, and Zane Lowe, who guide listeners through narratives of calm and well-being in their own hosted segments.
About Apple Music
Apple has a deep-rooted passion for music, revolutionizing the music experience with the iPod and iTunes. Today, the award-winning Apple Music celebrates musicians, songwriters, and audiences with a library of over 100 million songs, expertly curated playlists, and top-notch artist interviews and global premieres on Apple Music Radio. With unique content from esteemed figures in music, features like autoplay, time-synced lyrics, lossless audio, and immersive sound via Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, Apple Music provides an unparalleled listening experience, helping users discover new music and cherish their favorites while uplifting the global artist community. Apple Music is accessible in over 167 countries on various Apple devices and platforms, maintaining an ad-free environment without sharing user data with third parties. For additional details, visit apple.com/apple-music.
About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group aims to influence culture through the power of artistry. As the leading force in music-based entertainment, UMG encompasses a diverse range of services, including recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content. Boasting the most extensive catalog of recordings across genres, UMG identifies and nurtures artists while distributing some of the most acclaimed and commercially successful music worldwide. UMG’s commitment to innovation, artistry, and entrepreneurship fosters the creation of services and platforms that expand artistic and commercial opportunities for artists while crafting fresh experiences for fans. For more information, visit universalmusic.com.
- Sound Therapy is intended to support overall well-being and is not designed to treat any medical conditions.
Press Contacts
Jessica Bass
Apple
jessica_bass@apple.com
Cat Franich
Apple
cfranich@apple.com
Apple Media Helpline
media.help@apple.com