NIAMH MCCARTHY
After her spending her early-20s working in the music industry for Madonna and U2,Niamh McCarthy is striking out into the wellness space with her music-meets-meditation app Mindful Nation. Here she discusses astrology, the perils of touring and the moment she got 20,000 heavy metal fans to embrace meditation…
Niamh McCarthy is the 30-year-old founder of Mindful Nation, a music-meets-meditation platform which combines curated playlists with over 1,000 sessions from experts such as Madonna’s former personal trainer. Having grown up in County Laois, Ireland, McCarthy landed a job aged 20 working as assistant manager for the Maverick management company, eventually spending four years touring with U2 and Madonna. Now based in Los Angeles, McCarthy launched Mindful Nation in 2023 – with investment from entertainment giants Live Nation – and has plans to launch a mindfulness retreat in Greece next year.
I’m big into astrology; being Aquarius explains many of the paths I’ve taken in life. Aquarian women are forward-thinking and curious; many of us end up in tech. This Aquarian nature manifested itself when I started my fourth year of a media and PR course at college, after spending a summer working in New York. I thought ‘Why am I sitting here learning to write press releases when I’ve worked on-set with [famous illusionist] David Blaine?’
Be persistent. My friends often ask, ‘What’s the difference between a successful person and somebody who’s constantly blocked achieving their dreams?’. I think it’s relentlessness. In college, I spent a month in the library figuring how to get an internship visa for New York. When I returned, I was on an unwavering mission to make connections: working in a restaurant popular with the music industry, not going to Irish pubs with my girl mates… If you have a dream/itch inside, you should really follow that and take risks.
Serendipity plays its part in success. Lots of strange, serendipitous moments happened in New York. One night while walking home, I spotted David Blaine (who I’d worked with the year before) chatting to this tall guy who looked exactly like him. After saying hello, his friend intensely interrogated me about working in the music industry. The next day I had a phone call from the mysterious person’s assistant telling me to meet in one hour.
The tall person was Guy Oseary, Madonna’s manager. He’d recently signed U2 and I ran across New York to make the meeting, ringing my mum to ask her everything she knew about the band. The meeting went well. The next day, I had another phone call telling me to be at Madison Square Garden in 15 minutes. U2 were playing and I was put to work immediately, shepherding guests to their seats and backstage. I didn’t know it then, but Guy was testing my work ethic. Luckily, I got the job.
Travelling the world with U2 gave me a glimpse into how the 1% live. I had so many ‘little girl’ moments, such as sitting behind Beyoncé at the Grammys (one of U2 let me take their seat).
Ending up in a Berlin hospital taught me about the dark side of touring. As somebody who gives 100%, I burned myself out. At the time I was juggling two tours (U2 and Madonna). The travelling was taking a toll, plus I wasn’t eating well or hydrating. Being Irish, there was lots of drinking too. I ended up having panic attacks, eventually fainting at a Berlin hotel. In hospital, the doctor told me my adrenal glands had burned out. He also said I needed to learn how to breathe because I’m so stressed and breathing is like the remote control to our nervous systems. Whoever that doctor was, he planted the seeds for what I do now…
The app idea came from realising my office co-workers also needed to de-stress. At the Maverick office in LA, I wanted everybody to be calmer and less stressed, so I started weekly meditation sessions. I soon realised sitting and going ‘ohm’ wasn’t going to work for them: they were too busy. So, I developed my own format based on what they would understand: music.
Mindful Nation is meditation for people who say they don’t have time. The beauty of the app is you can do it anywhere: on the tube, when running, sitting in the office… Calm and Headspace are both great, but don’t help people like me who are extremely busy.
Mindful Nation is also one of the first apps to mix meditation and music. Sometimes people don’t need a meditation teacher, but a life coach. When I wanted to raise money for my company, I needed motivation. After meetings, I wanted to calm down. What did I do? I played music: upbeat music to keep me confident for investment meetings; piano music to soothe me afterwards… I want people to feel energised after our sessions: that’s why we’ve got uplifting, summer beats – the kind of stuff you’d hear in Tulum, Ibiza or Mykonos.
Music is scientifically proven to calm us. There are specific frequencies – 432hz and 532hz– which have a direct calming response in the brains. Mindful Nation also has a sleep playlist consisting of drones designed by a sound therapist.
The moment I knew Mindful Nation would be a success was… when 20,000 heavy metal fans meditated to a show we hosted at Download Festival. To see grown men sobbing, hugging and repeating ‘I am wonderful’ affirmations in the Leicestershire mud was incredible.
The optimism of Los Angeles is infectious. Yes, it’s a place where you can spend $40 on activated walnuts, but people are so positive. Much of this comes down to self-care. They really understand how everything can impact mental health and how your thoughts manifest in your life and body, maybe creating illnesses.
Launching my own business and moving to LA has taught me the art of longevity. Living in New York, everything was fast-paced; things had to happen immediately. Now, it’s long-term plans and realising considered actions are better than hasty decisions. I also need to be a thoughtful leader and make sure everybody working on this project is happy. I’m not here to have a billion-dollar exit.
Of course, I have vices: I’m Irish! I’m currently in Greece and if I go to a bouzoukia club, there’ll 100% be a McDonald’s stop on the way home.