Why your hospital can’t just use Spotify or Apple Family Sharing with patients in hospital!
Are you a healthcare facility, or are you affiliated with a healthcare facility? Does your healthcare facility play music for its patients as part of surgery, MRI, or other procedures? Are you currently using a Pandora, Spotify, or Apple Family Sharing account? If so, STOP! You are subject to large fines, UNLESS you purchase a healthcare license from ASCAP or BMI.
https://www.ascap.com/~/media/files/pdf/licensing/classes/healthcare-license.pdf
Now that more and more hospitals are seeing the research studies documenting the power of soothing music through headphones for the patient, it’s really important to know that you’re getting music that is already licensed by the company who is selling the pre-loaded headphones.
Here are the BIG differences between Surgical Serenity Solutions playlists and Spotify, Pandora, or Apple Music:
- Surgical Serenity Solutions music has been curated and sequenced specifically for purposes of engaging rhythmic entrainment for the anxious patient entering into surgery or another medical procedure.
- Playlists and other music from Spotify, Pandora or Apple Music is intended for entertainment or perhaps relaxation but there is no way to know whether it will produce the desired effect or calming or engaging rhythmic entrainment.
- Surgical Serenity Solutions music is already licensed by and to Surgical Serenity Solutions. It is owned by us and is either commissioned by us or performed by Dr. Alice H Cash, a clinical musicologist and concert pianist.
- Playlists and other music from Spotify, Pandora, or Apple music requires a healthcare license from ASCAP or BMI. What you will pay for this license is just for that license and doesn’t include any type of player, headphones, earbuds or specific therapeutic playlists.

Waiting for a C-section.
For the patient of course you always have the option of creating your own personal playlist. But a physician of any kind cannot create a playlist and use it with his patients, without a license to play this music from ASCAP or BMI.
I have met with physicians recently who confirmed that they had no idea this law exists and of course want to use the licensed Surgical Serenity Solutions. To talk with us, please go to www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/contact-us.
When I had the idea to create pre-loaded headphones back in 2005, I learned about how medical facilities were mainly using music chosen by the surgeons for the surgeons. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t give the patient soothing music through headphones. Some surgeons knew intuitively that this was a good idea but most surgical staffs did not have the time or the know-how to create playlists that would be soothing and comforting for the patient and would take them through pre-op into surgery, through surgery, and then into recovery.
And then music became digitized and MP3 players or iPods were an option. And then Pandora and Spotify and Apple Family Sharing came along and some hospitals had music therapists or nurses or even surgeons who started making some playlists for surgeons. For a decade or more this was a growing phenomenon. During that time Surgical Serenity Solutions was marketing to patients and they were buying our pre-loaded headphones and taking them in to their surgeries.
Around 2018-19, just before Covid hit, Surgical Serenity Solutions started marketing primarily to hospitals and in the course of making that switch, I learned that ASCAP, the national organization that licenses all music, had decided to create a healthcare license that hospitals could purchase for a nominal fee in order to create their own playlists to offer patients. As of January 1, 2019 hospitals were required to purchase a healthcare license in order to use Pandora, Spotify or Apple Family Sharing.
The problem with this option is that music therapists usually don’t have the time and surgeons and nurses don’t have the know-how to choose music that will result in reduced anxiety and pain perception.

Woman relaxed wearing headphones before surgery
So a great alternative is to purchase Surgical Serenity Solutions (SSS) pre-loaded headphones because:
- the music is legal to use because it is commissioned and owned by SSS, in the public domain, performed by myself, a concert pianist, or already licensed by me for sale.
- the music is scientifically chosen and shown to engage rhythmic entrainment, reduce anxiety and lower pain perception.
Of course if you want to buy a license for your hospital or Ambulatory Surgery Center, you can do that. But most busy surgeons simply don’t have the time to do that and music therapists typically don’t work with surgical patients by creating playlists for them to use in the perioperative period.
If YOUR hospital or center wants to learn more, you can go to https://www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/preloaded-headphones-for-hospitals/
For a white paper that I wrote for physicians about the benefits of music for patients, go to https://www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/4-reasons.
If you have any questions at all please contact me immediately by filling out the form at https://www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/contact-us/. We look forward to answering all of your questions and helping you and your patients to understand the benefits of music during surgery and provide you with ready-to-go pre-loaded headphones that have already been proven effective to hundreds and thousands of patients. Our music is also available to license for hospital so that patients could bring their own bluetooth headphones and stream our surgical playlists. You can go HERE to hear samples of this music.
Step into the future of music with surgery and hospitals providing the best in scientifically curated and sequenced music! Surgical Serenity Solutions is the future!
And NOW: SSS announces our Pre-loaded MP3 players for Hospitals
Our MP3 players are each pre-loaded with one of our proprietary, therapeutic playlists! Because they are more cost-effective when purchased in bulk and co-branded for each hospital, hospitals can afford to GIVE each patient their own MP3 player to take home for continued recovery in the comfort of their own home. Clear HERE to fill in your hospital’s information so that we can set up a call to provide you with the very best package for your hospitals!

Understanding why music for surgery is different from other uses
Surgery is a different process and requires a different approach. Very few operating rooms would allow a music therapist in the room while a patient is being put to sleep, operated on, or slowly brought back to consciousness. This is where Surgical Serenity Solutions comes in. Our music has been specifically curated and sequenced to go through the surgical process, the perioperative period, with the patient. Our music has been curated to engage rhythmic entrainment from the moment the patient begins listening through headphones or earbuds. If you are interested in know more about this or are ready to order for your hospital or clinic, just go to www.surgicalserenitysolutions.com/contact-us.
Veteran’s Day and the importance of music
Ten years later, in 2024, Surgical Serenity Solutions has gotten into Veterans Hospitals around the country. We now have 5 distinct playlists and 4 paths to provide our music to hospitals, surgery centers, birthing centers, chemotherapy, dialysis centers and pain clinics. Our playlists include Classical, Jazz, New Age, Lullabies, and Memory Care.

Research in peri
Surgical Serenity Solutions offers therapeutic music playlists in 5 distinct genres. This music has been curated by a clinical musicologist and undergone 3 clinical studies, all of which deemed it powerful at decreasing anxiety and pain perception. The music in available in 4 different formats:
Music therapists have a Bachelors or Masters in music therapy and are board-certified by their peers. They work in hospitals and clinics and sometimes they work in private practice. Music therapists traditionally work one-on-one with patients but occasionally do group therapy.
David Friedman, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Florida:
Thomas Mayo, MD, Anesthesiologist in Boston, MA:
Lisa Gallagher, MT-BC [board certified music therapist], Head of Music Therapy, Cleveland Clinic:
Michael Peck, MD, Anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins Suburban Hospital:
Getting buy-in from physicians is crucial but we must also get that buy-in from the patients who use them and feel that they make a great difference:
In the last year, I have been invited to be on 7 difference podcasts, so I know that people are buzzing and it is very exciting!!
Does YOUR hospital use the Surgical Serenity Solutions headphones or MP3 players yet? If not, I strongly recommend getting them for your patients. The proof is there, social as well as empirical medical data. Just click on the link below to purchase either the headphones or the MP3 players! Your patients will thank you!
www.SurgicalSerenitySolutions.com/hospitalheadphones
www.SurgicalSerenitySolutions.com/MP3players