Headspace Appoints John Legend Chief Music Officer, Launches New Focus Mode

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Headspace, a global leader in meditation and mindfulness, announced today it has appointed award-winning singer and songwriter John Legend as its first-ever Chief Music Officer (CMO). Legend will work closely with Headspace Studios, Headspace's new multi-platform studio creating and distributing mindful living content, to harness the power of music to enhance members' mindfulness journeys. The collaboration kicks-off today with the launch of Headspace's new Focus mode, designed to help members tune in to what matters most to them.

"I'm so excited to join the Headspace team as Chief Music Officer," said Legend. "Songwriting and performing requires an incredible amount of mental focus, concentration, and present moment awareness. When I'm able to cancel out external noise and tune into a state of relaxed concentration, that's when the creativity flows.  That's why I'm looking forward to helping others learn how to focus on what's important to them - and I'll be bringing some of my friends in the music industry along with me for the ride."

Headspace meditation content has scientifically-validated benefits when it comes to helping users focus. In fact, four weeks of Headspace has been shown to increase focus and reduce mind-wandering by 14 percent.¹ Additionally, in another study, just one 15 minute session of Headspace resulted in 22 percent reduction in mind wandering.²

Designed to create the ideal conditions for mindful work and to help members prioritize what matters most to them, Focus mode content will include:

• Music including 12 different "stations,"  each featuring focus-inspired playlists from different genres and themes like jazz, cinematic and piano. In addition, Legend will also curate a special Focus playlist composed by a different musician each month.
• Exercises including dozens of meditations and mindfulness exercises content designed to support people in scenarios where they might need help focusing the most: before a presentation, difficult conversation or starting and/or ending the work day. 
• Soundscapes featuring 23 different ambient sound mixes to help users mask background distractions including "Rain on Canvas," "Snowfall," and "Lakeside Campfire."

"Increased stress and anxiety in our day-to-day lives have impaired our ability to focus. It's challenging to concentrate on work, family, or even a simple task at hand when our reality is in such a period of flux and uncertainty," said Sam Rogoway, Chief Content and Product Officer at Headspace. "That's why we are so proud to launch Headspace Focus with John Legend at a time when so many people around the world need some extra help concentrating on what matters most to them."

The launch of Focus comes as Headspace continues to expand its content library beyond meditation to help mitigate stress and anxiety, while also focusing on other everyday need-states like sleep and movement. Headspace recently launched Move Mode, a mind-body fitness experience guided by expert trainers, created to help members strengthen both their mind and their body, together.

For more information on Headspace, please visit www.headspace.com.

About Headspace
Headspace was created with one mission in mind: to improve the health and happiness of the world. Reaching more than 65 million users in 190 countries, Headspace was one of the first meditation apps in the world and remains a leader in mindfulness and mental training. Headspace is committed to advancing the field of mindfulness through clinically validated research, with one of the largest research pipelines of any digital health and wellness company. Headspace operates a B2B business (Headspace for Work) to offer its mindfulness products and services to more than 1,100 companies, such as Starbucks, Adobe, GE, Hyatt and Unilever, to help them build healthier, more productive cultures and higher performing organizations. Headspace supports government entities like New York State and the UK's National Health Service (NHS) to offer digital mental health tools. Headspace partners with many of the world's most-recognizable brands, including Apple and Amazon, as well as with Nike, NBA and the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team to offer sport and movement content. Headspace Health is Headspace's digital health subsidiary pioneering new ways to incorporate the Headspace mindfulness experience into digital medicine. Headspace has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies, Apple's Best of 2018, Samsung's Best of 2019 and one of CB Insights' top digital health companies, along with being selected for five Webby Awards in health and fitness between 2018 and 2019. For more information please visit us at www.headspace.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

¹ https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs41465-017-0020-9.pdf
² https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs41465-018-0114-z

SOURCE Headspace

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