Remember the days when bands got told off if they made songs that were too long to be played on the radio? When the intended distribution channel is a mindfulness app, there’s no such danger. Witness the new Arcade Fire tune, which is 45 minutes long, and has been released through the Headspace app.
“Memories of the Age of Anxiety” as the band put it in their announcement on Instagram. “Meditative vibes to help you focus and feel inspired.”
They’re the latest artist to work with Headspace since it hired John Legend as its chief music officer in August 2020.
It’s quite a coup for Headspace: the band’s first ‘single’ (if that’s what we call it) since a track off the new ‘Dumbo’ film’s soundtrack in 2019. It’s also a sign that Headspace is going toe to toe with rival Calm to sign up musicians to create mindfulness music – which by definition tends to be a lot longer than the traditional four-minute radio edit.
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