by Janet Hansen

When it comes to buying and selling music, retailers and industry insiders are constantly chasing down current trends that will effectively market quality new releases. Meanwhile, countless mainstream media stories continue delivering bad news: Music is dying a long, slow death, they say. With so much music out there and so many ways to find it, we are a culture over-stimulated with a myopic idea of what music means. If we listen to the media, we must believe the best music is only for the young and the hip, that music is only meaningful if we are seeking a throbbing lust for living.

Being a music marketer myself, it is my job to be on top of such news and determine practical solutions to help my clients find the proper target markets for their music. A recent experience brought light to a simple idea in which retailers can immediately cater to their clientele with sensitivity, meeting a need that occurs every day in every town and city throughout the world: Providing solace in times of tragedy.

Answering the call
The telephone rings, and the news on the other end is heartbreaking. A tragedy of some kind has just taken place: an accident that leaves someone fatally injured, an illness that holds a precious life in the balance. The most horrific of these scenarios is when someone decides to take their own life.

For those of us on the outside looking into these situations, we take a moment to catch our breath, light a candle or say a prayer, then distract ourselves by sending cards, or arranging the delivery of flowers. These traditional methods of extending our sympathy give us something to do in the immediate moment, the sense that we can offer comfort.

Families and friends grief-stricken in heartrending situations are in no position to do for themselves what others can do for them. In fact, most of their routines and decision- making abilities are suddenly dysfunctional. They don’t eat or sleep well. Some withdraw, while others exhibit hyperactivity or become negative and aggressive. Within crisis and fatality is a frenzy of motion and emotion until all the details have been put in order and closure begins. This is the darkest moment. Feelings of deep sorrow, anger, hopelessness, anxiety, and depression often fill the void when someone leaves this life. And the grief is not limited to the closest loved ones. Cards and flowers always go to the immediate family, but what about the deceased’s parents, siblings, best friends, and co-workers? They are mourning deeply as well.

Music as medicine for the soul
If you are a retailer who carries a catalog of contemporary instrumental or New Age music, you are perfectly positioned to assist your customers in reaching out to an exponential number of people during these very fragile moments. Music is a perfect antidote to a variety of symptoms related to tragedy. It has been proven formally and informally time and again, music of any kind has transformative powers that open emotional channels enabling us to listen to and act upon our deepest feelings. Aldous Huxley said, “After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”

An award-winning website dedicated to providing resources for life-threatening illness and end of life care, www.growthhouse.org, states, “Because music reaches a deep, non-rational part of the human spirit, it is ideally suited as an adjunct service that can affect feelings such as grief, fear, anxiety, sadness, and anger that stand in the way of a clear passage. Music can release blocked or painful feelings and can stimulate positive ones such as hope, love, and gratitude. Sharing music together can lead to sharing of the emotions that the music brings up.”

New Age music has often been touted as healing music (though not everyone experiences it the same way). The essence of New Age music is so yawning, it reaches the depths of individual emotions on a variety of levels, some of which we do not realize exist until we are faced with a critical situation.

From http://Musicandhope.com, a web site created by musicians Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel, Molly Greist shares the story of an unthinkable loss, the death of her infant son in an auto accident. “[I] sought solace by taking long drives alone and listening to Eric and Nancy’s music.” For those few hours, Molly says she was transported. She could cry endlessly and process her feelings. “The music spoke to a deep inner part of me. It comforted me. It helped me connect to the part of me that was alive and wanted a way through the pain.”

For the inspired New Age retailer, it is important to have a varied selection of music on hand for customers looking for meaningful ways to console bereaved family and friends right away. The music will last a lifetime and create endearing memories of that moment when time stood still as a life ended, and music provided a way through the heartbreak. Life itself is a song and a dance. It’s a symphony with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s a journey of orchestrated sound and silence. Giving the gift of song during times of trouble can help the healing begin from the first note to the last.

Janet Hansen is a music marketing specialist and the owner of Brio Public Relations in Sumner, Wash.