NEWS

Can music be prescribed like a drug? As clinical research and AI-driven personalisation converge, streaming technology is being asked to do more than entertain. It is being asked to heal. Tuned Global CEO Con Raso and MediMusic CEO Gary Jones discuss music as medicine, from the therapeutic angle to the infrastructure and music rights management behind it.

Watch the interview or read our wrap up.

Tuned Global CEO and Founder Con Raso joined Gary Jones, CEO of MediMusic, for a conversation hosted by Health Tech World on how AI, streaming infrastructure and clinical evidence are turning music into a legitimate therapeutic tool for pain, cognitive impairment and anxiety.

The discussion covered the science behind why music affects the brain and body, the regulatory hurdles standing between a promising idea and an NHS-approved treatment, and what it actually takes, technically and commercially, to build a platform for therapeutic rather than recreational listening.

For Tuned Global, the conversation reinforced a theme that runs through much of its work across industries: the infrastructure behind a music experience is as important as the intent behind it. Whether music is being used to help a patient manage pain or to soundtrack a flight, the underlying licensing, delivery and data challenges are strikingly similar.

Watch the interview

Key takeaways from the interview

1. Therapeutic music and entertainment music are not the same product

One of the clearest points in the conversation was the need to separate music for leisure from music for health. Gary Jones offered a simple analogy: at home, you choose your own painkiller; in a hospital, a nurse gives you one and you trust their expertise. Therapeutic music works the same way. It is not about personal taste, it is about designing for an effect on human physiology, mapped to the autonomic nervous system and the vagus nerve, rather than for enjoyment alone.

2. The clinical evidence is real. The regulatory path is the hard part

Both guests pointed to a growing body of research, including more than 25,000 papers on PubMed, supporting music's effect on pain and anxiety, alongside NHS guidance now steering clinicians away from opioids and toward non-pharmaceutical interventions. But turning that evidence into an approved treatment is slow. MediMusic described a 468-page NHS compliance form where a single error can mean rejection, plus a multi-year effort in the US around digital therapeutics legislation.

3. Personalisation goes far deeper than a playlist

Building a patient profile means going beyond genre preference. MediMusic factors in listening habits, drawing on an established academic framework that groups listeners into different types, as well as age, region and cultural background, with a current project focused on South East Asian communities. The platform connects to wearables or synthetic data to capture mood before and after listening. A one-size-fits-all algorithm cannot deliver a clinical outcome.

4. Therapeutic platforms need different signals than streaming platforms

Con Raso drew a sharp distinction between the two. Entertainment platforms optimise for engagement, so a high value signal is something like a song being played or added to a playlist. Therapeutic platforms optimise for outcomes, so the signal that matters is whatever indicates the music is actually working for that patient. Building the right platform starts with deciding which signal you are actually trying to move.

5. The partnership model matters as much as the science

MediMusic's Gary Jones was candid that the partnership with Tuned Global, now roughly half a decade old, succeeded because each side stayed in its lane. MediMusic focused on clinical outcomes, while Tuned Global handled music licensing, rights, compliance and delivery. Con Raso's advice to anyone entering this space: partner with music infrastructure experts rather than trying to build it yourself, especially in a regulated clinical setting where licensing complexity can derail a good idea.

Why this matters for music platforms

The opportunity in health and wellness is one of the clearest examples of music moving beyond passive streaming into outcome-driven, purpose-built experiences. As evidence accumulates and reimbursement pathways start to open up, demand for platforms that can prove clinical value, not just user engagement, will grow.

The challenge is that these platforms need to operate to a much higher bar. Licensing, rights management, catalogue delivery, analytics and compliance all need to hold up to clinical and regulatory scrutiny, not just commercial scrutiny.

This is where Tuned Global helps. Through its music cloud platform, APIs, licensing solutions, rights management systems and AI-enabled music analysis, Tuned Global supports companies building music-driven products across health, fitness, telecom, gaming, aviation and entertainment.

Frequently asked questions

Can music really be used as medicine?

A growing body of clinical research, including tens of thousands of academic papers, supports music's effect on pain, anxiety and cognitive impairment. The challenge is not the evidence, it is meeting the regulatory and compliance requirements needed to deliver it as an approved clinical treatment.

How is therapeutic music different from a regular streaming playlist?

Therapeutic music is designed around measurable effects on the body, such as heart rate or the autonomic nervous system, rather than personal preference. It is built and delivered differently, with patient profiles, clinical use cases and outcome tracking replacing engagement metrics like plays or favourites.

How does Tuned Global support music-based health and wellness products?

Tuned Global provides the licensing, rights management, catalogue delivery and AI-powered music analysis that let health-tech and wellness companies focus on clinical outcomes instead of building music infrastructure themselves.

Build a more engaging music experience with Tuned Global

Explore how Tuned Global's Music Cloud Platform, APIs and licensing solutions can help you launch a music-driven product for health, wellness or any other audience. Connect with us today.