What Oprah is about — inspiring and empowering people to live their best lives — is what the Positive and New Thought Music Movement is about. This is music that's not just entertaining, but is used to create positive change in people's lives.

 

The music "motivated me to keep pursuing my goals," is a sentiment often heard. "It inspires me to stay in a place of gratitude and celebration," writes one woman. "It makes me feel connected with others, like we really are part of one human family," writes another.

 

Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, says "it's music to help your soul sing." Or as Oprah might say, it's music to inspire you "to live your best life."

 

This new movement in music — called Positive, or POS, by some, or New Thought by others — is music with positive, universal messages that speaks to what is good and what is possible in our lives. It's music that touches people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds because it's the language of the soul which knows no boundaries.

 

From popular songs like Natasha Bedingfield's ubiquitous "Unwritten" and Jack Johnson's "Good People" to indie songs like "XtraOrdinary," "If I Were Brave," and "Thou Shall Enjoy," songs with positive messages are gaining popularity across the country.

 

With the tremendous popularity of TV shows like Oprah or movies and books like "The Secret," people are searching for more positive messages in the media and in the world around them. There's a growing understanding that what we focus on becomes our reality. Why not start with the kind of music we listen to. Why not create and listen to music that speaks to what's good in our lives, to what is possible, to what we all share as human beings.

 

Out of this trend, two organizations were formed several years ago — the Positive Music Association (www.PositiveMusicAssociation.com) and I-to-i Music (www.ItoiMusic.com) — to advance this emerging new movement in music. These two groups are helping to organize an upcoming music festival called "Harmonizing with Humanity" held at the Embassy Suites Phoenix North and Quintero Golf Club March 28-30, 2008. 

 

The event features 30 of the world's leading Poz and New Thought music artists, from Grammy and Emmy nominated songwriters to "Real Love" author Greg Baer. Musical styles range from pop and rock to country and folk. "Harmonizing with Humanity" is a fundraising event for I-to-i Music and the PMA to help bring this music into the mainstream, and is being presented by JourneyMates.net, Songs of Unity, and Quintero Golf Club.

 

For more information about the concerts, workshops and keynote addresses, or to register, go to www.JourneyMates.net or call 888-644-6961.

 

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Scott Johnson is executive director of the Positive Music Association. He can be reached at Scott@PositiveMusicAssociation.com or 303-581-9083.

The Positive Music Association is proud to be part of the 1st annual "Harmonizing with Humanity" music festival in Phoenix March 28-30, 2008.

I had the pleasure of attending the 2007 New Thought Songwriters Tribute at Unity Village, Missouri in September and was the presenter of an award for Best Personal Transformation Song. Here's a video montage that I took and put together of the concert the next evening after the awards ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1zjiikba6M

I want to find new positive music on places like iTunes, CD Baby, XM Radio and Fuzz.com by subject matter and lyrical content. The closest I've seen is an "upbeat lyrics" category on Pandora.com. There's a huge untapped market out there for music that appeals to the millions of people who watch Oprah, read Self-Help books, are part of the Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability (LOHAS) Market and the New Thought Movement. I'm convinced that if you build it, they will come. If you added a "Positive" or "Poz" category to iTunes for instance, Apple would get tons of new listeners and music buyers. So far no one in the music broadcasting/selling business has had the foresight to see this emerging new movement in music. I encourage you all to send requests to these music broadcasters and sellers and ask them to add the new category of "Positive" or "Poz" music. CD Baby: derek@cdbaby.com XM Radio: Russ.Davis@xmradio.com iTunes: itunesmarketing@apple.com Fuzz: feedback@fuzz.com Scott

A new member of the Positive Music Association wrote me recently asking what I thought about her giving away MP3 songs in an ezine that she sends out. I responded saying that giving away music for free is a good way to expose new people to your music. However, the danger is that your audience may start expecting free songs from you. I like streaming songs. That way people can hear the songs and if they like it, they can buy it. The average cost of 99¢ for an MP3 download is nothing. But that got me thinking. What is the value of a good song? Is it worth a 99¢ bottle of Coke? A $3 latte at Starbucks? A $4 video rental at Blockbusters? The $21 we spent today on the last Harry Potter book? My wife and daughters might argue that one song is not worth the same as a Harry Potter book. But there are people who have told me that some of my songs have really touched and inspired them. They've listened to the same songs over and over again. It's changed their lives somehow. That's got to be worth more than 99¢. Now I know that most of us live in a free market economy run by supply and demand, but sometimes I feel like I want to educate people on the real value of music. I'm even thinking of adding an option on my website encouraging people to pay more than 99¢ per song if that song is making a difference in their lives, if that song, which they now own for life and can listen to as many times as they'd like, is worth more than the buzz from a $3 cup of coffee. Wouldn't that be cool to start selling music for $5 a song. Heck, if it changes your life, it's worth at least that much. Scott