Premium Nature Soundscapes Are in High Demand

Nature soundscapes — field recordings of rain, ocean waves, forest environments, birdsong, thunderstorms, river currents, and other environmental audio — represent a distinct and increasingly valuable asset class in the music rights marketplace. While not "music" in the traditional sense, nature soundscapes are cataloged, distributed, and monetized through the same channels as composed music, and they benefit from demand drivers that are both massive and durable. If you have invested time and equipment into capturing high-quality environmental recordings, your catalog may be worth significantly more than you expect.

Market context

The Nature Soundscapes market.

The nature soundscape market sits at the intersection of the global sleep aids industry (valued at over $100 billion and growing at 7-8% annually), the wellness app economy, and the hospitality sector's growing investment in guest experience audio. Sleep is the primary demand driver. An estimated 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders, and nature sounds are among the most commonly recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions. Sleep apps represent the largest and most active buyers of nature soundscape content. Apps like Sleep Cycle (50+ million downloads), Rain Rain Sleep Sounds (20+ million downloads), Noisli, and myNoise all depend on licensed nature recordings. White noise and ambient sound apps collectively generate over $500 million in annual revenue and continuously expand their sound libraries to reduce user churn. Every new sleep app that enters the market needs nature content, creating a constantly replenishing demand pool. The ASMR and relaxation content crossover has expanded the audience for nature soundscapes dramatically. ASMR channels on YouTube featuring rain sounds, crackling fire, and ocean waves regularly achieve view counts in the tens of millions. This crossover has introduced nature soundscapes to demographics (particularly Gen Z and younger millennials) who now expect nature audio as a standard feature in wellness and productivity tools. On streaming platforms, nature and environmental sound playlists perform exceptionally well. Spotify's "Nature Sounds" playlist and related categories drive hundreds of millions of streams monthly, with listeners often playing these playlists for 6-10 hours continuously (overnight sleep use). This extended play behavior means that a single listener can generate 30-50 track plays in a session, making nature soundscape tracks among the most revenue-efficient content on streaming platforms per active listener. The hospitality industry represents a premium licensing channel. Major hotel chains including Marriott, Four Seasons, Hilton, and boutique wellness resorts license nature soundscapes for in-room sleep systems, spa treatment rooms, and lobby environments. Airlines use nature sounds in boarding and disembarkation playlists and in-flight relaxation channels. These commercial licensing deals tend to be annual or multi-year contracts with fixed fees, providing the kind of predictable revenue that catalog buyers particularly value. Recording quality and uniqueness are the primary differentiators in this market. Generic rain recordings are abundant, but high-quality field recordings from specific locations (Icelandic geothermal springs, Japanese bamboo forests, Amazonian rainforest canopies) with professional equipment and minimal noise contamination are scarce and command premium pricing. Buyers evaluate nature soundscape catalogs not just on revenue metrics but on the quality, uniqueness, and geographic diversity of the recordings themselves.

What affects value

What we look at.

Example

A real-world scenario.