Wait, what's an “earworm”? That was my thought, when I first read the term in some long forgotten article. Turns out that it's an affliction that many of us have experienced…
An earworm, sometimes known as a brainworm, sticky music, or stuck song syndrome, is a catchy piece of music that continually repeats through a person's mind after it is no longer playing. Phrases used to describe an earworm include “musical imagery repetition”, “involuntary musical imagery”, and “stuck song syndrome”.
In the past, ad agencies loved to write catchy jingles with the implicit desire to implanted them as Earworms in customers.
Nowadays, companies with large TV/radio advertising budgets purchase the rights to use popular songs in their commercials – with the intent to connect a product/service/brand with an existing, popular earworm track. The best example that I'm aware of was Apple's use of the U2 track Vertigo in their 2004 iPod + iTunes “Silhouette” commercials. I still can't help thinking of iTunes whenever I hear this song!
https://youtu.be/54vgFVhOAF0
Creating your own earworm
Back in 2012 I wrote; You're a celebrity… act like it!
If you promise me that you won’t get a big head, I’d like you to go look in the mirror and repeat after me;
“I’m a celebrity and it’s about time that I started acting like one.”
Now I’m not suggesting that you should start arriving for your next class in a chauffeur driven limousine, nor am I recommending that you follow these seven steps to becoming a celebrity. But I am suggesting that you consider acting in a way that will cause others to be interested in you… which is really no different than the people you are interested in and what drives some of our attraction to other celebrities.
The dictionary lists ce·leb·ri·ty [suh-leb-ri-tee] as a noun meaning 1. a famous or well-known person. If you’ve been teaching for a while, I’m going to guess that within your little world, you are well known = you are a celebrity 🙂
So if the thought of you as a celebrity is intriguing, here are a few things you can work on…
I went on the list a number of actions you could take, including…
Consider a Theme Song
Where would Gilligan’s Island be today without … five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour, a three hour tour. Admit it, you could hear the song as your read the words 🙂
What would be wrong with having a consistent song for your class intro? A song that your students begin to associate with your class?
Starting to see how using a popular song (making it part of your brand) could create an earworm that connects participants to your class?
I've felt that it was only a matter of time, before one of the mainstream Big Box clubs added an official Rhythm and Movement class offering.
Last month Life Time Fitness introduced AMP Cycle – from this video it appears to be a no-holds-barred, full on party, that will engage the same participants who are drawn to the massively popular studios offering similar class formats. NOTE: I haven't experienced an AMP Cycle class yet, however I plan to ASAP.
https://youtu.be/wRMgT-UZf9U
There were three important points that I found interesting in my interview with Rob Glick (LTF's Senior Director of Group Fitness, Yoga and Cycle). First how Rob placed their three Indoor Cycling offerings along a continuum…
AMP Cycle – Far Left > An entertaining party with a purpose!
EDG Cycle – Center > A nice blend of entertainment and metrics.
PWR Cycle – Far Right > Focused training, with no fluff.
… second – Instructors aren't forced into teaching a class format they either don't like, or aren't comfortable teaching…
… and third – participants enjoy a choice of three different class types.
Listen to the complete interview with Rob Glick below and then share your comments below.
If you're interested in becoming an AMP, EDG or PWR Cycle Instructor with Life Time Fitness, here's the link I promised Rob I'd provide to search for jobs in your area 🙂
AMP Cycle Instructor Job Description
Hey cycle junkie! So, you have an interest in becoming our next artist on the AMP Cycle team? Well, that's awesome and we can't wait to meet you. If you like loud music and choreographed high-energy workouts, AMP is for you!
In AMP we’re all about the beat of the music and the rhythm of our riders. AMP is an addicting, sweaty, party-like workout to challenge your Ambition, Motivation, and Passion. The best part of instructing this class is you get to be you…period. Engage with your audience! Be authentic! After all, class is all about connecting with yourself and the positive energy in the room. If this sounds like you, apply and audition to be an AMP Cycle Instructor at Life Time Indoor Cycle. We offer training, ongoing continuing education, support and resources to help you be a successful instructor. We believe we are stronger together and take pride in supporting our instructors while helping them be the best they can be! Are you ready to join this rapidly growing team? There’s an AMP Cycle class waiting for your encouraging voice and energetic personality. We're so excited to see what you got.
After a meteoric increase in new Indoor Cycling studios and other forms of boutique fitness businesses, it makes sense that a few of them will be sold. I've recently received a number of inquires from studio owners, asking for help selling their business – and I went ahead and posted them. Here's a cycling studio in Magnolia, TX and another studio in Marietta, GA for sale.
Our mission here at ICI/PRO is to provide quality information, for all aspects of Indoor Cycling. Wanting to be helpful, while not having any personal experience selling a fitness business, I did what I always do – I found (and vetted) an expert at brokering fitness businesses.
In this episode of the podcast you can meet fitness business broker Shane Massey. Shane explained to me that there are multiple mistakes studio owners tend to make, when selling their business. We decided to focus on these five that he felt were the most important.
AVOID THESE 5 MISTAKES WHEN SELLING YOUR FITNESS BUSINESS
WITH FITNESS CLUB BUSINESS BROKER, SHANE MASSEY
1. THEY DON’T HAVE A LEGITIMATE REASON FOR SELLING THE BUSINESS
2. THEIR BUSINESS VALUATION / SELLING PRICE IS WRONG
3. THEY DIDN’T PLAN (PROPERLY) FOR THE SALE
4. THEY IGNORED POTENTIAL DEAL KILLERS
5. THEY DIDN’T SEEK PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
Listen to our discussion below.
Shane is prepared to assist an owner, regardless of where you're located. He has agreed to provide an initial consultation at no cost for our readers and listeners.
Studio owner Karina Belli is offering what she describes as a “Business in a box – 360 Indoor Cycling Studio” that someone could purchase and move to their own location… or assume her lease and continue at it's current location in Marietta, GA .
I hope this email finds you well. As I mentioned in my FB message, I am looking at selling my studio. The concept is selling everything that is needed to start a studio (EVERYTHING), thus the name “Business in a box”.
I need to cut my losses and be able to move on. Unfortunately, things did not work out as I had hoped for. I am pretty much giving everything away… Here is what is included for $36,000:
21 Bikes – Freemotion 11.9 with console with power sensor
PIQ – Bike reservation
Sound Equipment Website/Signage/Branding/Furniture/Dispensers (wet towels, hand sanitizer, bathroom towels, soap)/Smart TV/ Front Desk MAC Computer/ HeartRate monitors/printer/fans/ washer & dryer
And much much more
I am also open to selling things separately, but would prefer to sell everything to one party.
Please let me know if you have any questions. And thanks for posting this for me!
I saw this online tool, after following a link posted by Kor180 studio owner Maja Kermath on Facebook. After trying a few tracks that came to mind, it worked so well that I felt I should share it with you. https://songbpm.com
The songbpm.com tool searches the Spotify database and returns all the posibilities found. It's interesting to me how the various versions of Ziggy Stardust are all at a different BPM.
79BPM or 148BPM… what's the difference?
The live version of the song above is listed at 148BPM, while all the others are around 80BPM. Obviously the live version isn't played twice as fast. Rather if you know the original song you'll hear that the live version is a bit slower @ 74BPM – 1/2 of 148BPM. The software is counting this track differently, which is why I prefer using….
Tap-To-The-Beat Music Counting Tools
Following and riding to the beat of the music, does require you be able to hear the rhythm and then match your movement to it. That's why I've always recommended Instructors actually listen to each track and then tap out the beat using one of the simple tap-to-the-beat counters listed below.
The Windows version Tap-To-The-Beat counter isn’t pretty, but I’ve used it for years — download it here. It will show as an .exe file in your downloads folder. Double click to open it and start tapping the Enter key in time with the beat that you hear 🙂
