Apple Music and Universal Music Group (UMG) are joining forces to introduce an audio wellness collection for spa and wellness and health and fitness operators, designed to help listeners attain clearer focus, deeper relaxation and better sleep.

The Sound Therapy collection has been crafted by a team of producers, scientists and audio engineers at Sollos, a music-wellness venture incubated within UMG. It features extended, instrumental and reimagined versions of popular tracks from acclaimed artists and is backed by science.

There are three categories – focus, relax and sleep.

All songs have been enhanced with auditory beats or coloured noise to help encourage specific brain responses.

Gamma waves and white noise – a whoosh-like combination of every sound frequency – may help with focusing. Theta waves could aid in relaxation and Delta waves and pink noise – a deeper, gentler variation akin to rain or wind – might assist in achieving better sleep.

UMG’s EVP and chief digital officer, Michael Nash, says the initiative was born from a desire to elevate music’s role in health and wellbeing, as well as recognising a significant commercial opportunity.

For Apple, this is a follow-on from its radio station – Apple Music Chill – which plays relaxing music across genres, interspersed with mindful moments encouraging listeners to make the time to find centre and calm.

“We’ve seen incredible engagement around our personalised mood playlists and the new Apple Music Chill radio station,” said Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s co-head. “Now, with Sound Therapy, we’re proud to work alongside UMG and Sollos to bring a new listening experience to Apple Music – one that’s grounded in artistry, shaped by innovation and designed to support wellness.”

The partners plan to work together to further establish scientific evidence supporting music and audio for improved wellbeing, and finding inclusive ways to bring these benefits to people.

More generally, music from Apple can also be streamed with an Apple Music subscription and has been curated into multiple playlists for things such as spa, health club and summer fitness, among many others, with personally curated lists also an option for operators who want to customise their music streaming and make collections available to members with Apple Music subscriptions.

In the 2024/25 Spa Foresight report from Spa Business magazine, we predicted that deep listening and binaural beats would become a major trend for the wellness sector.

Read 2024/25 Spa Foresight here, sign up to receive your free digital copy of the Spa Handbook 2025/26 and Spa Foresight report here and read the back catalogue of Spa Foresight here. You can also access the HCM Fitness Foresight reports here.