November/December 2004 Living Now
A New Genre of Music Emerges - "Positive"

by Scott Johnson

Musical genres often convey certain attitudes and themes. Pop music often speaks of love and relationships. Rock music shouts defiance. Country aches of heartbreak. Rap expresses anger. Blues communicates hard times. A new genre of music is emerging that includes all these styles but with a distinct message and attitude. It's called positive music.

From Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" and Simon and Garfunkels' new "Citizen of the Planet," to indie songs like "Waking Up," "If I Were Brave," and "Right This Moment," songs with positive messages are beginning to gain popularity across the country. Already millions of Americans listen to music that could be classified as "positive" – New Thought, New Age, Inspiring/Motivational, Ambient, Spiritual. And the Positive Music Association (PMA) and Positive Music Radio are leading the way in establishing this new category of music.

Positive music is an eclectic blend of music from mainstream and independent musicians, presenting a message of the goodness and potential within each of us. It celebrates and embraces life. It's music to appreciate, and perhaps improve the quality of, one's life. It is life affirming, constructive and inclusive. It may, as defined by the PMA, be spiritual, but not religious.

Positive music often inspires and empowers people to feel good, to contribute, to bring out the best in themselves. It can now be heard on the Internet on Positive Music Radio, where we believe we have the largest collection of positive music in the world with over 200 independent artists featured with new musicians being added every week. The vision and passion of Positive Music Association, together with Radiopositive/Positive Music Radio founded by Tom Averna, is to establish a new genre of music to acknowledge and promote the work of artists that haven't fit into any particular musical category. These are artists performing in a wide range of musical styles — from pop, rock, jazz and blues, to folk, spiritual, Latin, and even rap — all with the desire to spread a message of peace, unity, and empowerment.

As Tom Averna says, "This music is not telling people how to live their lives. Its primary message is to encourage us to feel good about our lives and to open up to the greater potential that is a part of each of us. With the music format of his Internet station, Averna hopes to "take radio back to the days when you could hear new talent you'd never heard before and you could hear a Country song next to a Rock & Roll song next to an R&B song next to a Folk song. We play all styles of music, thus honoring the diversity of our artists and listeners."

There is a desire in America and elsewhere for more positive media. 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.

Songs are like mantras. When we hear things over and over again we begin to experience those messages and feelings in our own lives. I think we're all feeling like we want to experience more peace, more purpose, more connection to the world around us.

To find out more about the Positive Music Association and Positive Music Radio, visit www.positivemusicassociation.com. PMA contact: Scott Johnson, 303-581-9083, scott@googolpress.com. Radio contact: Tom Averna, 970-270-1189, tom@positivemusicradio.com