The Value of “Functional Music” as Medicine
Functional music is on the verge of revolutionizing the way we think about music and its relationship to our bodies. Emerging technology promises to transform music into a form of medicine that can be customized to meet individual patient needs. Doctors and caregivers will be able to prescribe personalized playlists based on a patient's unique cardiac indicators and musical preferences. This will usher in a new wave of safe and drug-free remedies to conditions such as anxiety and agitation commonly associated with Alzheimer's and dementia.
As music is increasingly recognized for its therapeutic qualities, its value as a commodity is also likely to change.
Companies like Rubato and MediMusic are already demonstrating that music has powerful applications in the healthcare sector. Integrating music into this industry has far-reaching and exciting implications for the music business.
"We know that music was used by our ancestors, even before language, and that it has been an important part of humankind’s evolutionary journey. Recent clinical trials have proved that music plays a significant role in helping people manage clinical conditions and symptoms, as well as improve their overall wellbeing. For example, the right music can easily reduce objective stress levels for people suffering from both chronic and acute stress problems.
While each person relates to music in a different way, some people relax to the lyrics, some people relax to an old tune-music helps balance our autonomic nervous system almost instantly. This has been validated with ADHD patients, Alzheimer's and Dementia patients, and others. There’s a big difference between the subjective choices that people make in relation to music and the objective realities around what is helpful and restorative for the body and the brain. People are often confused about what they think works in their health’s favor and what objectively and clinically would trigger the right effect.
“I believe turning music into medicine is inevitable in coming years and will eventually benefit all the healthcare industry stakeholders, including payers, caregivers, physicians, music labels, and artists, and most importantly - will help cure patients and reduce suffering."
– Amit Sternberg, CEO & Co-Founder, Rubato
As music becomes an increasingly important tool for promoting wellness, the value of existing music will undoubtedly change. Artists and record labels may find new opportunities to license their music for use in therapeutic contexts while bringing value to their own catalogs. In tandem, music streaming services and other digital platforms may begin to develop new features that cater to patients' needs based on certain diagnoses. Demand for music therapy has already increased significantly, and this trend is likely to continue as the technology becomes more widely available.
As the world moves towards a future where functional music is a reality, one question remains unanswered: how will the value of compositions change? If music-based prescriptions become a standard part of healthcare, insurance companies may be expected to cover the costs. However, given the potential benefits of this approach, patients and their families may be willing to bear some of the costs themselves.
“MediMusic has managed to digitally fingerprint the DNA of music so we can prescribe the right songs as medicine to ease anxiety and stress. You could say it’s a musical pharmaceutical.”
- Gary Jones, Co-Founder & CEO of MediMusic in Tuned Global
This is all to say that the impact of music-based interventions on healthcare and the music industry will surely be significant. Alongside mounting scientific evidence surrounding the benefits of music on well-being, new technological breakthroughs are expanding sonic health possibilities.