In his newsletter Steven Halpern has several amazing story to share:
Back in the day, in the early years of taking my work public, (1975-1978), I was the first–and often only–musician to come out of ‘the metaphysical closet’, as it were. My debut album was, as far as I’m aware, unique in that it openly referenced meditation, chakras and researching involving music and subtle energy medicine.
There’s always been a prejudice in the media and the music industry against authentic New Age music. It was only natural for me to take my music to the stores that carried books for spiritual growth, and helped convince the pioneers, like East West books, that their function was more than just a bookstore; it was to serve as a lifestyle support and resource center, carrying other products, like meditation music and crystals, that folks like me were interested in.
Of course, not all stores were receptive to my speaking on the essentially ‘unspeakable” topics of sound healing, meditation and chakras. As a matter of fact, I remember vividly that I was once told why one major chain would not even carry my recordings in their stores. Since they were both gay, the head music buyer confided to my sales manager, “Steven is a known heterosexual meditator.”
Read it here – highly recommended.
– See more at: http://www.innerpeacemusic.com/currentissue.html#sthash.F5Vgmem3.dpuf