Spotify has always found ways to branch out beyond music, now the platform is a hub for all-things audiobooks and podcasts. So what do you do when you’ve got every audio format under your belt? You venture into fitness, of course.
The best music streaming service kick-started its new Fitness hub in April by announcing a partnership with Peloton, bringing a slew of video workouts from Peloton trainers right to the Spotify app. Just a few weeks ago, the platform launched Running Mode, a collection of customizable playlists across different genres to make soundtracking your workouts easier.
But Spotify’s new Fitness ecosystem wouldn’t be what it is without the watchful eye of Austin Lamon, Senior Director of Product, who helped build the hub from the ground up — and knows exactly where he wants to take it.
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A ‘natural extension’
Spotify’s Fitness hub didn’t just appear overnight, and the product team had to ask themselves one question: how can we integrate it into Spotify’s existing products?
“Our strategy has been to expand into formats that deepen engagement and increase the value of Premium,” Lamon tells me. “Music, podcasts, audiobooks, video, and now fitness all serve the same goal: helping users get more out of their time on Spotify and leave feeling better than when they opened the app”.
One of the best things about Spotify’s Fitness hub is that it’s not overly complicated and intimidating for beginners. Instead, it caters to budding and established fitness enthusiasts equally. Lamon tells me “Spotify Fitness is built for anyone who wants movement to be part of their day without adding complexity to it.
“That could be a dedicated athlete following a structured training plan, someone fitting in a walk between meetings, or a first-timer looking for a guided stretch or yoga session. Many of the most popular fitness experiences — like walking, running, yoga, strength and mobility — require little or no equipment, making them accessible to almost everyone”.
It’s clear that the Spotify team is full of ideas, and it’s always thinking about new ways to take the platform to the next level. However, not every idea makes the cut, but for Lamon, fitness was a no-brainer.
“Fitness is a natural extension of how people already use Spotify today — to get motivated, recover, and reset — and allows us to support more moments throughout the day,” he shares, but the fitness hub needed a bit of a boost to get the ball rolling. How do you do that? You enlist the help of a fitness behemoth.
Thank you, Peloton
Spotify’s partnership with Peloton gave the fitness hub the kick-starter it needed, turning it into a one-stop shop for guided workout videos for all fitness abilities.
“Peloton was a natural launch partner because it brought world-class instructors, high production quality, and a deep catalog of programming that allowed us to deliver a great experience from day one,” Lamon details. “Our ambition is to build an open fitness ecosystem where users can discover the content that’s right for them, while making Spotify an even more useful part of their daily routines through experiences like Running Mode”.
Shortly after Peloton came to the Spotify app, Running Mode was born, enhancing the Fitness hub by transforming personalized playlists into guided running experiences. Lamon is confident this is the key to success and expansion, telling me “The early signals are very encouraging, and usage has grown every week since launch.
“We aren’t trying to create a new behavior; millions of people were already incorporating Spotify into their fitness routines. We’re simply making those experiences more seamless and personalized. Running Mode is the next step in meeting that demand”.
After playing around with Running Mode, I get where Lamon is coming from — there’s a playlist for everyone depending on how long you want to run for and the genre you want to listen to, and comes with a voiceover that interjects every now and then like Couch to 5K.
It can be a bit intimidating for those who don’t know where to start, but Lamon offers his advice. “Running is how I reset, and Running Mode has fully become part of my routine,” he starts, but there’s one thing in particular he wants you to remember.
“One thing people don’t always realize is that the presets are completely customizable. You can adjust the workout type—whether it’s intervals, a steady run, or something more structured—the duration, your target BPM, and even the kind of music you’re in the mood for,” he says. Despite being pre-curated, there’s still an element of control.
He continues: “The real power-user trick is hidden one level deeper: swipe across the playlist controls to “Edit prompt” and you can describe your exact session in plain words — your intervals, your warm-up length, whatever you want — and Spotify builds the run around it. I also recommend trying the optional audio coaching. It feels less like a coach barking instructions and more like a supportive friend helping you pace the run. And if you prefer to run without it, you can turn it off with a tap”.
A fitness future awaits
If there’s one thing Spotify has always invested in, it’s access. You can use Search to find an abundance of its own editorial playlists, as well as the Made For You hub. But I couldn’t help but wonder: does convenience eradicate the desire to curate your own playlists? Lamon doesn’t think so.
“Spotify has always been about giving people more choices, not fewer,” he says. “If you love building your own workout playlists, that experience isn’t going anywhere. Running Mode is simply another option for the moments when you’d rather spend less time curating and more time moving”.
Lamon also believes that Running Mode’s personalization is the other redeeming factor, sharing with me that “Every session starts with the listener’s own preferences — from the type and length of their run to the music they want to hear and the tempo that matches their pace. The result isn’t a one-size-fits-all soundtrack; it’s an experience tailored to that specific person based on their goals, music taste, and workout preferences”.
As someone who makes their own playlists, I’m quite satisfied with the soundtracks I’ve created for my different workout regimes. However, that’s not to say I don’t appreciate having access to playlists that are not only concise tempo-wise, but are the right running lengths. Running Mode is already a solid expansion of Spotify’s Fitness hub, but it’s only the start for Lamon.
It’s only been two weeks since Fitness launched on Spotify, and he’s already looking ahead, who shares with me “We see Fitness as a long-term investment and another way to make Spotify more valuable throughout the day”.
He goes on: “Just as we’ve expanded from music into podcasts, audiobooks, and video, we’ll continue evolving Fitness based on how people naturally want to move, listen, and engage. In the near term, our focus is on expanding access.
In the short time Spotify’s Fitness hub has been live, the editorial brains behind it have noticed an encouraging shift in user engagement. And from here on out, Fitness is only going to get bigger, as Lamon leaves me with this: “Looking ahead, we’re exploring additional workout types, deeper personalization, and ways to make the experience even more seamless across devices”.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
