Strava
Workout tracking app Strava integrated with streaming music platform Spotify.
How it works: The newly launched feature allows Strava users to stream, control, and explore music from the record screen. The in-app widget eliminates the need to switch between platforms.
What they said: According to Strava VP of connected partnerships Mateo Ortega, the feature solidifies the company’s role as a hub for fitness activity:
“We’re excited to partner with a global leader like Spotify to seamlessly integrate music and movement on the platform. This new feature further solidifies Strava’s position at the center of connected fitness and continues to demonstrate the power of the global community of active people on Strava.”
Turn it up. Music can make or break a workout. In fact, research has shown that the right playlist can actually boost performance.
- Women listening to music at 170–190 bpm saw 11.5% and 6% improvements in perceived exertion for endurance and HIIT, respectively, versus those with no music.
- High-tempo music was found to increase endurance by up to 15%.
- In a study of rowers, the group listening to music recorded higher levels of power, higher heart rate, and improved times with the same perceived effort as those without music.
With additional benefits for pain and stress management, motivation, and coordination, Dr. Costas Karageorghis, professor of sport & exercise psychology at Brunel University in London, posits: “music can be like a performance-enhancing drug.”
In the zone. Taking notice, Strava joins a long list of fitness companies helping users craft the perfect soundtrack.
- Since 2021, VR fitness app Supernatural has worked to bring music into the metaverse, signing licensing deals and debuting its Artist Series with Katy Perry.
- In 2022, Orangetheory Fitness named DJ Steve Aoki its chief music officer, responsible for curating motivational soundtracks that overlay the studio’s HIIT workouts.
- Last December, hybrid yoga brand Y7 Studio inked an exclusive partnership with Universal Music Group to curate its entire library of digital classes with licensed music.
Elsewhere… Apple Fitness+ already offers Artist Spotlight, syncing music from artists like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Queen to its dance, HIIT, and strength content. Next up, it’s rumored to be working with Spotify on a HealthKit integration that would personalize certain playlists according to users’ health data.
Looking ahead: While Strava is late to the music game, both brands benefit by accessing the other’s engaged user base. A step further, as TERRA CEO Kyriakos Eleftheriou told us, heart rate-tailored personalized workout playlists might not be far off.
