The Feed.fm music service, which delivers music content to more than 50 leading fitness brands, researched what music people prefer to exercise to and how it affected the process.
According to the service’s study, 93% of respondents were absolutely convinced that music can make a workout more effective. Yoga and strength-training fans most often choose downtempo and ambient music, while cardio-training fans choose more energetic dance music and EDM. The study also found that exercise with music lasts, on average, three times longer than without it, and if a fitness club offers its clients a well-liked workout soundtrack, visitors return twice as often.
Pop music remains the most popular style for workouts — Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X and Doja Cat are at the top of the list. However, Feed.fm specialists noticed that people who use fitness equipment also sometimes listen to rock while working out, while fans of street workouts and jogging prefer hip-hop and indie music of little-known performers.
The authors of the study recommend that fitness clubs establish a feedback loop with customers, asking them periodically about their musical preferences. The study also found that listeners were more influenced not by the specific number of beats per minute, tempo and rhythm, as has always been commonly believed, but by the energy of the track itself. For example, hip-hop stimulates endurance, as does rock music, while indie music can create a meditative mood while running. In terms of selection, the study found that a playlist consisting of 75% of already familiar music tracks and 25% of new songs, was the most effective for a productive workout, while playlists containing all new music prevented people from exercising effectively.
In Russia, the largest audio branding company is FONMIX. The service automatically analyzes music for a number of parameters - tempo, rhythm, dynamics and others. Using this information, AI and Big Data, the company’s professional music editors create individual playlists for specific purposes, such as for inducing a feeling of calmness or reversely, to increasing activity levels.
According to FONMIX research, Russians prefer mostly popular foreign music during their workouts. Despite the withdrawal of the three major foreign labels (Warner music, Universal music and Sony music) from the Russian market, contracts concluded with them are still in force, which means that their songs will continue to be played throughout Russian fitness clubs.
However, research also showed that high-quality Russian music was also in demand, especially progressive house from artists such as Andrey EXX, Anton Ishutin, DJ Svet, Slider & Magnit, Filatov & Karas.
Based on this data, the FONMIX music service creates playlists for fitness clubs that are specifically curated for each different workout regime or area of the club where the music will play. For example, FONMIX playlists offer music for cardio, strength training and yoga as well as for playing in the fresh juice bar area and massage room.
