For a long time, Spotify was just an app for listening to music. Then came podcasts, audiobooks, video, and even initiatives around physical books. Now, the platform is venturing into a new unexpected area with fitness. Yes, after accompanying your workouts with tailored playlists, Spotify now aims to be where you actually do your training.
The newly announced feature is the creation of a “Fitness” space directly within the app. From this new tab, users can access audio and video sports content. The app wants to offer content related to various sports categories: yoga, pilates, cardio, meditation, running, strength training, and wellness formats.
Spotify has partnered with several specialized creators like the popular Chloe Ting, Kassandra Reinhardt, and other recognized online coaches. Now, instead of playing a playlist on Spotify and then watching a video on another platform, everything will be consolidated in one place, which can be extremely convenient.
Context: Spotify is expanding its services to include fitness content for users.
Fact Check: Spotify has partnered with well-known fitness creators to offer a variety of content in a single location within the app.
A partnership with Peloton
The platform has also teamed up with Peloton, a famous brand known for its connected bikes and premium classes. Premium subscribers in certain countries will have access to over 1400 on-demand sessions, and importantly, owning Peloton equipment is not necessary to benefit from this feature. This is great news as Peloton equipment can be expensive.
But this is a significant strategic change. The company claims that nearly 70% of its Premium subscribers exercise every month. They also boast over 150 million fitness playlists created on the platform. In other words, users were already using Spotify for workouts. The company now aims to monetize this usage to generate additional revenue.
However, this expansion raises a crucial question. Will Spotify remain a music app, or is it becoming a huge digital catch-all? Some users are already criticizing its interface as more confusing than before, with numerous contents like podcasts, videos, recommendations, and even sponsored content overflowing. Spotify seems to be somewhat aware of this issue, as the platform recently added an option to hide videos within the app.
Apps no longer want to stay in their box
This is a trend that is evident in today’s tech industry. Several major platforms are looking to move beyond their historical activities to capture more attention.
For example, Duolingo is known for language courses, but the app has gradually ventured into music, mathematics, and even chess. Netflix is no longer content with just series and movies and is actively expanding into the gaming industry. Each app is evolving into an ecosystem structured around an idea or concept rather than a specific service.
