New Earth Records
New Earth Records is an independent record label specializing in new age, meditative, wellness-oriented, and world music.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
New Earth Records is an independent record label focused primarily on new age, meditative, spiritual, and world music. The label was founded in Munich, Germany, in 1990 by European entrepreneurs Bhikkhu Schober and Waduda Paradiso. It initially operated under the name Tao Music before adopting the New Earth Records identity. From its beginnings, the label positioned recorded music as part of a broader wellness and contemplative culture, helping bring music associated with meditation, yoga, alternative healing, and Eastern-influenced traditions to audiences outside their original cultural contexts. During the early 1990s, New Earth expanded its artist roster with musicians whose work combined ambient, acoustic, classical, devotional, and global traditions. Early signings included Prem Joshua, Al Gromer Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and James Asher. The label subsequently developed a catalog spanning artists such as Deuter, Parijat, Kamal, Terry Oldfield, Chinmaya Dunster, Peter Kater, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Anuvida, and Rasa. Its releases have generally been marketed for listening environments connected with meditation, yoga, Reiki, massage, relaxation, and other forms of contemplative or alternative wellness practice. The company’s international development was accompanied by several changes of location. Following the European success of James Asher’s 1995 world-beat album Feet in the Soil, the label moved its principal base from Munich to Boulder, Colorado. Its creative offices later moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1999, before returning to Boulder in 2013. The label has also maintained an office presence in Ashland, Oregon. These moves reflected its growing orientation toward the North American market while preserving an internationally oriented artist and repertoire strategy. New Earth’s catalog has grown to more than 280 albums and has included over 50 signed artists. The recordings have been distributed in 92 countries and, according to the referenced account, receive hundreds of millions of streams annually across digital platforms. The catalog includes studio albums, collaborative projects, devotional and world-music recordings, and music designed for sustained, low-intensity listening rather than conventional pop-radio consumption. Notable releases and artist achievements include the 2009 United States publication of BEYOND, involving Tina Turner, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, and Regula Curti, and the 2010 Grammy nomination for Pure Sounds by the Gyuto Monks of Tibet in the Best Traditional World Music Album category. The label has also been associated with environmentally conscious publishing practices. Since its founding, it has used recycled paper and soy-based ink for its publications and has supported nonprofit organizations addressing climate-change issues. Its cultural profile has been reinforced by awards and prominent performances connected with its artists, including Terry Oldfield’s 2005 Narcissus Award for Best New Age Album, Chinmaya Dunster and the Celtic Ragas Band’s performance at Paul McCartney’s 2002 wedding, and Deuter’s 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from Zone Music Reporter. New Earth Records remains an independent specialist label whose identity rests on the intersection of music, spirituality, wellness, and global cultural exchange. Rather than competing primarily through mainstream popular music, it has built a durable niche around artists and recordings intended to support reflection, relaxation, yoga, meditation, and related practices.
History
New Earth Records began in Munich, Germany, in 1990 under the name Tao Music. Its founders, Bhikkhu Schober and Waduda Paradiso, changed the name to New Earth Records as the business developed an identity centered on new age, world, meditative, and spiritually oriented music. The label emerged during a period when recordings connected with meditation, yoga, alternative healing, and Eastern philosophy were reaching wider international audiences. New Earth became one of the labels associated with introducing these styles to listeners beyond their established specialist communities. In the early 1990s, the company expanded its repertoire by signing artists working across ambient, acoustic, devotional, classical, and global traditions. Prem Joshua, Al Gromer Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and James Asher were among its early artists. Their work established a catalog that did not depend on a single genre in the conventional commercial sense. Instead, the label grouped music according to listening purpose and cultural orientation: relaxation, meditation, yoga, therapeutic settings, spiritual practice, and appreciation of world traditions. A significant organizational change followed the European success of James Asher’s album Feet in the Soil in 1995. New Earth moved from Munich to Boulder, Colorado, strengthening its position in the United States and its connection with the North American wellness and new age market. In 1999, the label moved its creative offices to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It later returned those creative operations to Boulder in 2013, while also being associated with offices in Ashland, Oregon. The label’s artist network broadened over time. Later and prominent New Earth artists included Deuter, Parijat, Kamal, Terry Oldfield, Chinmaya Dunster, Peter Kater, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, Al Gromer Khan, Anuvida, and Rasa. The catalog grew to more than 280 albums by over 50 artists, with distribution reaching 92 countries. Digital listening subsequently became important to the label’s reach; the referenced account states that the catalog receives hundreds of millions of streams per year across platforms. New Earth also developed projects with visibility beyond its core wellness audience. In 2002, Chinmaya Dunster and the Celtic Ragas Band performed at Paul McCartney’s wedding in Ireland, with Schober and Paradiso attending. Terry Oldfield’s De Profundis: Out of the Depths 2 received the Narcissus Award for Best New Age Album from New Age Retailer magazine in 2005. In 2009, the label released BEYOND in the United States, a project involving Tina Turner, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, and Regula Curti. The following year, Pure Sounds by the Gyuto Monks of Tibet received a Grammy nomination in the Best Traditional World Music Album category, and Paradiso was nominated for her executive-producer work on the album. Deuter received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Zone Music Reporter in 2016. Environmental considerations have been part of the label’s stated practices since its formation. New Earth has used recycled paper and soy ink for its publications and has supported nonprofit organizations working on climate-change issues. This ecological emphasis complements the label’s broader association with wellness, contemplative practice, and alternative cultural movements. New Earth Records’ history is therefore one of specialist-label development rather than mainstream expansion. It began with a German independent imprint, established a United States base, built a global catalog of meditative and world music, and adapted its distribution to an international digital environment. Its enduring identity comes from combining artist-led music production with the practical listening contexts of meditation, yoga, massage, Reiki, relaxation, and related practices.
- 2016
Deuter receives a lifetime achievement award
[1]New Earth artist Deuter received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Zone Music Reporter.
- 2013
Creative offices return to Boulder
[1]New Earth moved its creative offices back to Boulder, Colorado.
- 2010
Pure Sounds receives a Grammy nomination
[1]Pure Sounds by the Gyuto Monks of Tibet was nominated for Best Traditional World Music Album.
- 2009
Releases BEYOND in the United States
[1]New Earth published BEYOND in the United States, featuring Tina Turner, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, and Regula Curti.
- 2005
Terry Oldfield receives a Narcissus Award
[1]Terry Oldfield’s De Profundis: Out of the Depths 2 was recognized as Best New Age Album by New Age Retailer magazine.
- 2002
Celtic Ragas Band performs at Paul McCartney’s wedding
[1]New Earth artist Chinmaya Dunster and the Celtic Ragas Band performed at Paul McCartney’s wedding in Ireland.
- 1999
Creative offices move to Santa Fe
[1]New Earth transferred its creative offices to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
- 1995
Moves operations from Munich to Boulder
[1]The label relocated to Boulder, Colorado, following the European success of James Asher’s Feet in the Soil.
- 1990
Founded in Munich as Tao Music
[1]Bhikkhu Schober and Waduda Paradiso founded the label in Munich, Germany, initially using the name Tao Music.
- 1990
Adopts the New Earth Records name
[1]The founders changed the label’s name from Tao Music to New Earth Records.
Products and positioning
An independent specialist label connecting new age, world, devotional, and wellness-oriented music with an international audience.
New age music · 1990
New age and meditation catalog
The label’s core catalog consists of ambient, meditative, relaxing, and spiritually oriented albums. These recordings are commonly used in meditation, yoga, massage, Reiki, and other contemplative or wellness settings. The repertoire includes both artist albums and projects designed around sustained atmosphere rather than conventional pop-song structures.
World music · 1990
World and Eastern-influenced music
New Earth releases incorporate Indian, Tibetan, Celtic, and other international musical traditions. The label’s early roster included Prem Joshua, Al Gromer Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and James Asher, while later projects continued to connect acoustic, devotional, classical, and global influences.
Collaborative album · 2009
BEYOND
BEYOND was released in the United States by New Earth in 2009 and featured Tina Turner, Dechen Shak-Dagsay, and Regula Curti. It represents the label’s ability to combine internationally recognizable performers with devotional and spiritually themed repertoire.
Traditional world music album · 2010
Pure Sounds
Pure Sounds is a New Earth release by the Gyuto Monks of Tibet. Its recognition through a Grammy nomination in the Best Traditional World Music Album category illustrates the label’s work with devotional and traditional performers as well as its presence in awards-oriented world-music circles.
Brand decisions
2013
Returns creative offices to BoulderStrategyBackground
After operating its creative offices in Santa Fe, the label revised its location strategy.
Action taken
New Earth moved the creative offices back to Boulder, Colorado.
Aftermath
Boulder remained the label’s identified base.
1999
Moves creative offices to Santa FeStrategyBackground
New Earth adjusted its operating footprint after establishing itself in Boulder.
Action taken
The label moved its creative offices to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Aftermath
The creative operation later returned to Boulder in 2013.
1995
Relocates the label to BoulderStrategyBackground
The European release of James Asher’s Feet in the Soil was described as a success for the label.
Action taken
New Earth moved its operations from Munich to Boulder, Colorado.
Aftermath
The move gave the label a stronger United States base while it continued developing an international music catalog.
1990
Rebrands Tao Music as New Earth RecordsStrategyBackground
The founders established the label in Munich under the Tao Music name before choosing a broader identity for its new age, world, and meditative repertoire.
Action taken
The business adopted the New Earth Records name.
Aftermath
The New Earth identity became the basis for the label’s subsequent international catalog and artist development.
Recent events
- 2013
Creative offices return to Boulder[1]
Other
New Earth Records moved its creative offices back to Boulder, Colorado, where the label is identified as remaining based.
- 2010
Pure Sounds receives Grammy nomination[1]
Other
New Earth’s release Pure Sounds by the Gyuto Monks of Tibet was nominated for Best Traditional World Music Album, with Waduda Paradiso recognized as executive producer in connection with the nomination.
- 1999
New Earth Records moves creative offices to Santa Fe[1]
Other
The label transferred its creative offices to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
- 1995
New Earth Records relocates from Munich to Boulder after European success[1]
Other
The label moved from Munich, Germany, to Boulder, Colorado, following the success of James Asher’s European release Feet in the Soil.
Sources1 sources
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