A new virtual reality app for music therapy
A new venture founded by music, gaming, and health experts is launching a virtual reality app designed to harness the therapeutic benefits of singing.
To achieve this, Realize Music, Inc. has entered into strategic agreements with Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG). This partnership will bring 1 million tracks to the Become aware of the music: sing application, with new tracks released weekly. The company indicates that more music deals are forthcoming.
Application release details and features
The Become aware of the music: sing app will be released in North America on January 23, 2025, for Meta Platforms‘ Meta Quest VR headset. Realize Music states that it is developing versions of the app for Apple, Samsung, and Sony PSVR2 devices, as well as adaptations for mobile devices, PCs, Macs, smart TVs, and other media.
The application will launch with an initial subscription discount of $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
The Become aware of the music: sing app aims to provide users with “deeper connections with their favorite music and artists by creating immersive audiovisual journeys and using vocalizations designed to provide therapeutic benefits,” as stated by Realize Music. The goal is to reduce stress, promote relaxation, and release endorphins, which help relieve pain and improve mood.
“Using the power of music to promote health and wellness comes naturally to us.”
Brian Stone, Universal Music Group
Brian Stone, UMG Senior Vice President for Business Development, mentioned that “UMG has a long and successful history of partnering with innovative platforms in critical areas with exciting potential, such as health and wellness.” He added, “We hope Realize VR will improve people’s lives by offering new and unique audio experiences that promote self-care while singing with our artists.”
“We believe that music has always been a bridge for self-expression, and this partnership with Realize Music strengthens that connection by delivering an innovative experience that combines entertainment with self-care,” said Allan Coy, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Recorded Business Development, WMG. He further stated, “Together, we are changing the way fans experience music, transforming it into a powerful tool for relaxation and self-expression while creating unique opportunities for our artists to connect with their fans in exciting new ways.”
In addition to an extensive library of music “for every musical taste and mood,” Become aware of the music: sing will feature a “voice-responsive environment” where visuals respond to the user’s singing, “lyrical visualization,” which transforms song lyrics into “immersive visuals,” and interactive experiences such as 3D drawing and gaming on air drums. Users will also have the ability to create and share playlists.
“Fear of judgment prevents over 80% of people from ever enjoying one of man’s oldest traditions, and that’s a real shame,” said Mike Wilson, Co-Founder of Realize Music.
“Singing has perhaps the most well-documented physiological and psychological benefits in the emerging new science of music for health, and we invite people to a personal, private, purposeful experience that will consistently produce joyful results,” he added.
“Singing arguably has the most well-documented physiological and psychological benefits in the emerging new science of music for health.”
Mike Wilson, Realize Music
Wilson is a renowned game producer and publisher, known for original video games such as ROCK and Autumn Guys. He will be joined as CEO by music and wellness industry expert Mark Roemer, who has spent over 20 years “at the intersection of gaming, technology, marketing, distribution, health, and content creation,” according to Realize Music. The Realize Music team also comprises veterans from Sony, Meta, Rockstar Games, and the Guitar Hero franchise.
“Singing for personal enjoyment is a practice that the vast majority of Western cultures have lost as singing has become performative and reserved for talented professionals.”
Mark Roemer, Realize Music
Roemer emphasized the desire to change this by inviting singers from around the world to enjoy a personal and exhilarating musical experience.
Neither UMG nor Warner are unfamiliar with the wellness music space, having partnered with various companies and invested millions into exploring new health-related music applications.
In 2022, UMG partnered with the music wellness technology company Music Health on an application called Faith, designed to assist dementia patients through music. In 2023, UMG partnered with Arianna Huffington‘s Thrive Around the World to create the Sollos music wellness app. UMG also collaborated with the generative artificial intelligence startup Endel that year to create “artificial intelligence-powered, artist-controlled functional music” for sleep, running, relaxation, and other uses.
This year, BIE discovered a Universal patent for a method of generating binaural beats and adding them to existing music, which can create various mental states. Recently, earlier this week, UMG announced a partnership with Cardiff-based company Rescue from Innovation to explore a new virtual reality anxiety treatment that includes personalized music.
Warner Music has also invested in the wellness sector, participating in a $14 million funding round for LifeScore, a music technology company specializing in sleep, health, and wellness, among other areas. LifeScore launched its own music label in 2023. WMG has also partnered with a UK medtech startup, MediMusic, in 2023 to explore the potential of music as a therapeutic tool, and its label Spinning Records signed a contract with Endel to create 50 health music albums using artificial intelligence.
Universal, Warner team up with Realize Music for wellness-through-singing VR app
