New Age music is a type of music created to inspire creativity, help people relax, and promote a positive mood. People often listen to it during activities like yoga, meditation, or reading to manage stress and feel calm. It can also be used to make homes or other spaces feel peaceful. Some people connect New Age music with environmentalism or New Age spirituality, but many artists do not identify with these ideas, and some even dislike the term.

New Age music uses both acoustic instruments, such as flutes, pianos, and guitars, as well as electronic sounds, like long, smooth synthesizer tones or repeating electronic patterns. Many artists mix these styles to create music that blends electronic and acoustic elements. Early New Age music rarely included singing, but over time, more songs began to feature vocals. These often include chants inspired by Native American, Sanskrit, or Tibetan traditions, or lyrics based on stories from myths, such as Celtic legends.

There is no strict definition for New Age music. However, the Grammy Awards consider the purpose of the music when judging entries in this category. In 1987, a magazine called Billboard noted that New Age music is one of the few types of music without a clear definition. Some people believe it is a marketing term rather than a true music category and see it as part of a larger cultural movement.

New Age music was influenced by artists from many different musical styles. Tony Scott’s Music for Zen Meditation (1964) is often considered the first New Age recording. Paul Horn, starting with his 1968 album Inside, was an early important artist. Irv Teibel’s Environments series (1969–1979) included natural sounds, bell-like tones, and "Om" chants, and were among the first widely available recordings that used sound to affect the mind. Steven Halpern’s Spectrum Suite (1975) was a key work that helped start the New Age music movement.

Definition

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New-age music is more about the feeling or effect it creates than the specific instruments or musical style used. It can be made with acoustic instruments, electronic instruments, or a mix of both. New-age artists may perform alone or in groups, using instruments such as the piano, acoustic guitar, flute, or harp, or they may use electronic instruments or Eastern instruments like the sitar, tabla, and tamboura. New-age music often overlaps with other music styles such as ambient, classical, jazz, electronica, world, chillout, pop, and space music.

There are two main ways to define new-age music:

• Music that has an ambient sound and is used to help with meditation, relaxation, or spiritual practices such as yoga, healing, or guided meditation. This type of music is usually created by musicians who make it specifically for these purposes. It is simple in style, with repeated sounds and no sudden loud parts. It is mostly instrumental, and some artists use sounds of nature or animals. Flautist Dean Evenson was one of the first to mix peaceful music with natural sounds, which helped make this kind of music popular for use during massage and yoga. Other artists who create music for healing or meditation include Irv Teibel, Paul Horn, Deuter, Steven Halpern, Paul Winter, Lawrence Ball, Karunesh, Krishna Das, Deva Premal, Bhagavan Das, and Snatam Kaur.

• Music found in the new-age sections of record stores. This definition is more about where the music is sold rather than the style of the music. Retailers often use the term "new age" for a wide variety of music that is hard to classify into other categories. It is more of a marketing label than a real music category.

Stephen Hill, who started Hearts of Space, believes that many new-age musicians are deeply committed to New Age ideas and lifestyles. Some composers, like Kitarō, see their music as part of their spiritual journey. Douglas Groothuis said that from a Christian perspective, rejecting all new-age music would be a mistake, as most of it is not tied to New Age beliefs.

However, some people say that "new-age music" is just a term used to sell records. J. Gordon Melton said that the term does not refer to a specific genre but to music used for therapeutic or other purposes. Kay Gardner said that the label "new age" is not genuine and that many artists use it to sell music. She said that many new-age recordings use sounds of nature or animals to attract buyers. What started as ambient music for new-age activities has become a label for a mix of different music styles.

Some people consider Mike Oldfield's 1973 album Tubular Bells as one of the first new-age albums. Others think that music by Vangelis and modern jazz-rock fusion represents the progressive side of new-age music. Other artists include Jean-Michel Jarre, Andreas Vollenweider, George Winston, Mark Isham, Michael Hedges, Shadowfax, Mannheim Steamroller, Kitarō, Yanni, Enya, Clannad, Era, Tangerine Dream, and Enigma.

Many musicians do not want their music to be called new-age. When the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album was first created in 1987, the first winner, Andreas Vollenweider, said, "I don't want to label my music… It's ridiculous to give a name to anything that is timeless." Peter Bryant, a music director, said that the term "new age" has a bad meaning and that people in the music world often see it as an insult. He said it refers to music that is not interesting or meaningful. The term has stuck, and it is used a lot.

New-age music has been called "aural wallpaper," "music for the Birkenstock crowd," and "yuppie elevator music." Its titles often suggest a peaceful, relaxing world, like Etosha — Private Music in the Land of Dry Water or Nirvana Road. Although some of its composers are well-known in the rock world, the music is usually calm and not very attention-grabbing. It is a mix of folk, jazz, and classical styles and is called, by convention, new-age music.

Harold Budd said, "When I hear the term 'new-age,' I reach for my revolver… I don't think of myself as making music that is only supposed to be in the background." Vangelis said that the term gave untalented people a chance to make boring music. Yanni said that he does not want to relax the audience; he wants to engage them. He said that new-age music is more relaxed than his own. David Lanz said that people do not like the term "new age" because it is the only musical category that is not a real musical term. Andreas Vollenweider said that they sold millions of records before the term "new age" was even used. He said that stores have problems with how they categorize music.

Yanni said, "New age is a spiritual definition more than a musical definition. Some musicians began by associating themselves with new-age music. Now they've thrown everybody in there. But it would be silly to associate with this particular music."

Ron Goldstein, president of Private Music, said that Windham Hill was the center of new-age music. Because of that, people started to see new-age music as something from the West Coast. However, Windham Hill's managing director, Sam Sutherland, said that the label's founders avoided using any specific term and that they did not want to be associated with the label. Both Goldstein and Sutherland said that the term helped sell records and that new-age music would become part of pop music within a few years after 1987.

Jon Pareles, a music critic from The New York Times, said that new-age music has absorbed other styles in a softer way, but those styles do not need the new-age label. He said that new-age music is not a real category and that it is more of a marketing term.

History

The idea of new-age music began when professional musicians joined the New-Age movement. At first, the music industry did not pay much attention to it, so musicians and their teams started their own small, independent recording companies. Sales grew a lot in places like bookstores, gift shops, health-food stores, boutiques, and through direct mail. As more people wanted to buy this music, major recording companies started promoting new-age music in the 1980s.

New-age music was influenced by many artists from different musical styles. These included folk-instrumentalists like John Fahey and Leo Kottke, minimalists such as Terry Riley, Steve Reich, La Monte Young, and Philip Glass, progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd, ambient music pioneer Brian Eno, synthesizer performer Klaus Schulze, and jazz musicians such as Keith Jarrett, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Paul Horn, Paul Winter, and Pat Metheny.

Tony Scott’s Music for Zen Meditation (1964) is sometimes called the first new-age recording. It was popular mostly in California and not sold nationwide until the 1980s. Another type of meditation music came from followers of Rajneesh, with Deuter’s D (1971) and Aum (1972), which combined acoustic and electronic sounds with ocean noises. Kay Gardner’s song “Lunamuse” (1974) and her album Mooncircles (1975) mixed music, themes of sexuality, and Wiccan spirituality. Her later work, A Rainbow Path (1984), combined healing music ideas with women’s spirituality, making her a popular sacred-music artist. Mike Orme of Stylus Magazine said many Berlin school musicians helped make new-age music popular.

Paul Winter’s Missa Gaia/Earth Mass (1982) is called a masterpiece of New Age music that honors the sacredness of nature. His work on the East Coast was a major example of new-age spirituality. On the West Coast, musicians focused more on music for healing and meditation. Steven Halpern’s Spectrum Suite (1975) aimed to “resonate specific areas of the body” and “quiet the mind and body.” His work connected the seven musical notes and seven rainbow colors to seven energy centers in the body called chakras. His book Tuning the Human Instrument (1979) helped start the practice of musical healing in the United States.

In 1976, the record label Windham Hill Records was started with $300. Ten years later, it made over $26 million a year. Many other record labels formed, some accepting or rejecting the new-age label, such as Narada Productions, Private Music, Music West, Lifestyle, Audion, Sonic Atmospheres, Living Music, Terra (Vanguard Records), Novus Records (which focused on jazz), FM (CBS Masterworks), and Cinema (Capitol Records).

Between the East and West coasts of the United States, some of the most successful new-age artists were George Winston and R. Carlos Nakai. Winston’s December (1982), released by Windham Hill Records, sold millions of copies. Nakai’s early work, like Changes (1983), featured songs in the style of Native American music. In the 1990s, his music became symbols of new-age spirituality.

In 1981, Tower Records in California added a “new age” section. By 1985, independent and chain stores started selling new-age music, and major labels became interested in the genre. They bought existing labels, like Paul Winter’s Living Music, and signed artists such as Japanese composer Kitarō and American musician Pat Metheny, both signed by Geffen Records. By the early 1980s, all major record labels accepted new-age artists. In the late 1980s, new-age music became the fastest-growing genre with strong radio play. It was seen as a profitable business because recording costs were low.

Stephen Hill started the new-age radio show Hearts of Space in 1973. In 1983, it was broadcast by NPR to 230 stations. Hill later started a record label called Hearts of Space Records. In 1987, the Los Angeles radio station KMET changed its name to KTWV, branded as The Wave, and played only new-age music. Employees were told to call it a “mood service” instead of a “radio station.” DJs did not announce song titles, and listeners could call a phone number to learn what was playing. Other radio programs included Forest’s Musical Starstreams and John Diliberto’s Echoes. Major cable networks, like Soundscapes on Music Choice, and satellite radio companies Sirius XM and XM had channels that played new-age music.

In 1987, the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album was created. In 1988, Billboard began a weekly new-age music chart. In 1989, Suzanne Doucet held the first international New-Age Music Conference in Los Angeles. By the end of 1989, over 150 small independent labels released new-age music, and hundreds of radio stations played it. Over 40 companies sold new-age music through mail-order catalogs.

In the 1990s, many small Japanese labels created new-age music, but terms like “relaxing” or “healing” were more commonly used for instrumental music. Enigma’s song “Sadeness (Part I)” became a global hit, reaching number one in 24 countries and number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, selling over 5 million copies. In Europe, Holland was home to two major new-age labels: Oreade and Narada Media. Oreade said the trend in 1997 was “angelic” music, while Narada Media predicted the genre would move toward world music with Celtic, Irish, and African influences. In 1995, some new-age composers, like Kitarō, Suzanne Ciani, and Patrick O’Hearn, moved to independent labels due to limited promotion, lower sales, or fewer creative freedoms.

In 2001, Windham Hill celebrated its 25th anniversary. Narada and Higher Octave Music continued to focus on world and ethno-techno music. Hearts of Space Records was bought by Valley Entertainment. Enya’s song “Only Time” reached number 10 on

Related genres

Nu-new age is a type of music that became popular in the 2000s. It is a revival of new age music, which was a style from earlier years. This music style began with people who were part of the post-noise scene. Artists such as Emeralds, Stellar Om Source, and Oneohtrix Point Never helped develop this style. Other artists connected to nu-new age include James Ferraro and Dolphins Into the Future. An independent record label called Leaving Records is known as a key supporter of this movement.