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Hi John,
Since you are a Spotify guru, I thought you might know the answer to this question: Spotify says their music is for non-commercial use and that you can't use it to play at even a school. I haven't found anything from Spotify mentioning that it isn't allowed in fitness classes, and I know a LOT of people (including myself) who love to use it. Any thoughts?
This is from Spotify's page:
Can I use Spotify to play music in my bar, restaurant, store, school etc?<https://support.spotify.com/us/learn-more/faq/#!/article/public-usage>
ANSWER: No, the Terms & Conditions<http://www.spotify.com/se/legal/end-user-agreement/> that you agree to when registering for Spotify state that Spotify is for personal, non-commercial use.
We discussed this exact concern two years ago when we were just getting our feet wet with Spotify.
Before I got too excited, I decided to check what other Terms and Conditions I have agreed to — who reads those things anyway? It turns out that every music service or music software I use is restricted to Personal Use Only. Let’s go down the list:
iTunes has a similar restriction — (i) You shall be authorized to use iTunes Products only for personal, noncommercial use.
Windows Media Player from Microsoft — Unless otherwise specified, the Services are for your personal and non-commercial use.
My copy of MixMeister Express (no link) says: You may only use the MixMeister Software for Your private, non-commercial use.
You can add Deezer to that list:
The Developer agrees that the use of the Services is strictly limited for a non-commercial purpose and in a non-commercial environment.
It means that the Developer shall not perceive, receive, generate, benefit or create directly or indirectly, any moneys, incomes, revenues, data or any other consideration in connection with the use of neither the Services themselves, nor any and all Content accessed through the Services.
So am I screwed? Do I need to learn how to perform as a one-man-band?
No
Are you prevented from using Spotify, iTunes, Windows Media Player or MixMeister to produce and deliver music for your class tomorrow?
I’m not an Attorney, so that’s going to be your choice. I certainly don’t want to be advocating you do something that’s potentially in conflict with something you have agreed not to do… but I personally don’t see this as comparable with using music that’s been illegally downloaded in some fashion. Actually just the opposite.
You’ve heard me state on this recent Podcast about music licensing that; as a content creator, I’m very much against the distribution of copyrighted materials without due compensation given to the creators.
My feeling is that as long as the studio is properly licensed for playing music, this won’t be seen as much of an issue. Music labels are already dealing with the enormous amount of illegal file sharing that happens every day. iTunes changed how many people acquired music by creating a service that’s so convenient (and secure) that millions of people would rather pay a $0.99 than waste their time going elsewhere.
Like iTunes, I believe that Spotify can actually reduce the amount of sharing that ends in no revenue for the record labels by offering a convenient method of finding and accessing music.
That said, I want to offer this disclaimer: Links to Spotify playlists you find here are intended for your personal use only.
What do you think about this?
Do you have a question or problem we can help with? If so, please let us know and we'll do our best to answer it for you.
This week's favorite track (Hey Ya by Outkast) can be used as a seated flat road or a climb. Â It's around 80 beats per minute, so depending on how much gear you're riding with, you can really take it either way. Â I especially like songs like this to do what I call ‘gear play'. Â With ‘gear play', we ride at the same RPM's the entire time, but we add and take off gear through the song. Â This song is around 4 minutes, so I would ask my riders to find a flat road gear at 80 rpm's for 30 seconds, then add gear so they feel like they are on a hill for 40 seconds. Â Repeat this sequence 4 times, keeping a smooth pedal stroke. Â I'm posting two versions of the song, one radio/club mix and the other instrumental:
I have a confession to make: Unlike John, I am terrible at using OPM (other people's music) or other people's playlists. See his post here. It just doesn't ever seem to feel right to me and I can't make it my own.
Enter Spotify…I have become a ‘creeper' as my kids call it. Every time I see certain people have been ‘listening' to something on Spotify I perk right up and research it. More often than not, I find some great treasures for my playlists.
The #1 person I ‘creep' on didn't let me down this week! (He would probably die if he knew I love what he listens to).
Rudimental's ‘Right Here” at 82 rpm at 5:37 is a very nice Tabata training tune and flat road all at the same time. I used this yesterday for 10 driving Tabata intervals. It's such a nice change from the normal “cheezie” Tabata music, which always seems to be 60-68 rpm's. And, the steel drums at the intro definitely help set the mood!
Premium Members can download this mix for free by following the links below:
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Download Linked File As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library
To download the above media on a PC:
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Save Link As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library Click here to watch a video on how to download media files from ICI/Pro.
Some call it ‘house', others call it trance…however you want to categorize this 70 rpm moderate climb- it ebbs and flows beautifully allowing for surges and recovery within its 4:48 duration. You can actually feel the surges coming with the vocals at 1:52 and again at 3:58. There's plenty of time to cue a deep breath before lifting out of the saddle, or adding big resistance and pushing back for an in the saddle challenge.
This English dance music group also hosts a weekly radio show called ‘Group Therapy Radio' that would be fun to tune into!
There's nothing like a good steady beat to get your legs spinning and these two songs will give you and your riders what they need when the going gets tough.
Shawn Mendes recently released the Deluxe version of his album Illuminate and I revisited this tune as a climb at 62 RPM. Â It might also work great with accelerations or sprints on the chorus.
And brand new off of the release radar is the Tujamo Remix of Light My Body Up (feat. Nick Minaj & Lil Wayne) by David Guetta. Â It's much faster than the original version (around 66 RPM) so lends itself to a faster climb in or out of the saddle.
The original (see below) would make a great seated climb!
I hope you enjoy all three songs!  Have a favorite new release?  Share in the comments or just let us know how you used these songs in your profile.  🙂
