by John | Mar 27, 2026 | Best Practices, Master Instructor Blog, Spotify
I started to share this over at pedal-on.com and quickly realized that this is another Best Practice for Indoor Cycling Instructors.
Suggestion to anyone reading this who is planning to use Spotify in class.
A cycling coach / friend of mine taught me that race day is never a good day to try something new.
The mark of a Rookie is someone who changes his seat height the night before a big event, or slams the latest energy drink on the way to the race – only to find the new saddle height feels weird and uncomfortable… and the stimulants have your heart (and mind) racing so fast you're worried about what effect all of these changes will have on the race you've trained months for that you're an emotional wreck as you roll to the line and are off the back before the end of the 1st lap.
Experiment during your training and only bring what's familiar to the starting line. Same is true with using Spotify in your class. I've lost track of how many calls and emails I have gotten that begin with; the first time I tried to use Spotify in my class ____________________ happened. It worked perfectly at home… I have no idea why it didn't __________.
Show your professionalism by doing a dry run at your studio before you attempt to use Spotify to deliver your class music.
Teach a whole class by yourself and experiment with your new toy;
- Will it play with Air Plane Mode turned on?
- Can you find your playlist if it's buried in a folder?
- Is the cross fade working correctly?
- Hit a few of the wrong buttons… do you know how to get back?
- Accidentally tap the shuffle (no, just tapping it again won't return it to ordered play) … can you quickly turn shuffle off?
- Get sweaty and try to scroll through the playlist – can you without inadvertently changing tracks?
- Have some sweat drip on the screen – will you resist the temptation to wipe it off with your towel = changing songs? or learn that you can dab the screen without messing everything up?
- Do your local files play when the should?
I'm sure this is only a partial list of the potential problems (feel free to add your own) you could suddenly be faced with, if you run into class without taking the time to become proficient with Spotify.
Originally posted 2013-02-02 12:27:43.
by John | Jul 30, 2021 | iTunes & Spotify Training, Spotify
A member called to my attention that per their Terms and Conditions, Spotify is only permitted for personal use.
Meaning that you agree not to use it in commercial applications.
“That's not good” I thought and I immediately went to read what he was referring to. Here's the T&C page that includes this from Spotify:
3. Grant of license
You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, revocable license to make personal non-commercial use of the Spotify Software Application (including a right to download said application) and the Spotify Service and to receive by stream (and, where you have purchased the Premium Service or the Mobile Service, by conditional download), and in the case of the purchase of A-La Carte Downloads or Download Bundles, to receive Permanent Downloads of the media content made available through the Spotify Service in your home country. You do not have a right to transfer or sublicense your rights under this Agreement.
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.
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?
Originally posted 2011-08-22 05:57:40.
by John | Jun 21, 2021 | Master Instructor Blog, Spotify
I'm a big Shazamer (not sure if that's a real word) cause I'm constantly Shazaming music I hear throughout my day. Watching TV, in the car, during other Instructor's class – pretty much anywhere. I've even looked into finding a way to create a “hot button” on my iPhone so I could quicken the process of having Shazam start listening with just a single action. I don't use Siri and would love to be able to just press and hold the “Home” button and have it launch Shazam.
But all of this Shazaming created some frustration for me. Once Shazam has identified a track, I still needed to type the name / artist into Spotify search to listen to it or add it to my Future to use playlist.
So I consulted the all-knowing Google and found that Shazam Encore, the premium version of Shazam, offers the option to open a track in Spotify!
Encore has the option to purchase the App for a year ($4.99) or lifetime ($6.99) – I opted for one year plan but that link takes you to the lifetime page – scroll down for options.
Once you have updated to Encore here's how to get a tagged track into Spotify:
- Start by creating a special playlist in Spotify for your Shazamed tracks so you have a place for them.
- Shazam a song.
- Scroll down to see the Spotify option and select it.
- Spotify will open in search, so it may gave you multiple choices – Shazam isn't telling Spotify the exact song, just the track name.
- To the right of the track name is a circle with ***
- Select it and then Add to Playlist > choose your playlist 🙂
There are other advantages to Encore:
- No more advertising
- It appears to run quicker / answers come much faster – I'm willing to bet Shazam purposely delays it's response so the advertisements are displayed longer.
Originally posted 2013-03-12 08:28:52.
by Joey Stabile | May 1, 2021 | Audio PROfiles, Bonus Materials, Instructor Tech Help, Instructor Training, iTunes, KEEP IT FUN, Motivation, PRO Podcasts, PRO/Playlists, Spotify
“This weeks ride is from Amy! – This is a copy of one of the rides that Amy does during the Cycling Fusion Certifications to show the new instructors a sampling of various drills that they can use to build their rider’s skills.” Joey
Short version of the ride PDF is available HERE.
Get all of the ride details HERE.
Get all of the ride details HERE.
Originally posted 2018-10-19 20:51:02.
by John | Jan 8, 2021 | Instructor Training, Spotify
e·nig·ma [uh-nig-muh] noun, a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation: Spotify is such an awesome service for Indoor Cycling Instructors, it's an enigma to me… why so few Instructors are actually using it.
Or maybe it just looks that way. I'm basing my comment on how few subscribers we see to published playlists.
If you're using Spotify click on the People tab and select another user at random. Check out the number of subscribers they have to any of their published playlists. Even for all the popular Master Trainers I'm connected with, 40 subscribers is a big number for any specific playlist.
I found this playlist of club music on the right that Cameron Chinatti is subscribed to. It has over 57,000 followers.
Why is that?
I was trading emails with contributor Chris Hawthorne, discussing this “enigma” of what appears to be a very small number of Instructors using Spotify… or more specifically; Instructors using Spotify who take advantage of the phenomenal music sharing and new music discovery, that's available to users.
I realize that there are multiple reasons users don't want to share their Spotify usage. You may also view a playlist but not choose to “subscribe” to it. Maybe you listen to a few tracks, find one you like and drag it into one of your own playlists.
Here's an example. Krista Leopold (aka: groupfitpower) and I created these collaborative Spotify playlists and posted them at pedal-on.com. Collaborative playlists allow anyone to add their own favorites = they grow to fantastic Best Songs Lists that you can use to easily & quickly find the perfect track for your next class.
I built my Epic Blue Ridge PRO/Playlist using songs I found on these lists.
Best Intro-Warmup Songs
Best Songs for Climbing
Best Songs for All-Out Effort
Best Songs for Flats
Best Long Songs for Endurance
Best Cool Down Songs
Best Interval Songs
Over two hundred visitors have viewed these lists.
Collectively they have over 275 great tracks.
The most subscribers to any playlist – 16
Sixteen is less than 10% of the number of Instructors who have visited the page.
So again, why is that?
I'm thinking there's more to it… and if its an issue of understanding or the need for more education, we want to help.
So we've created this short survey to understand more about your use of Spotify… if you use it at all.
Totally anonymous if you choose – please take a few minutes and let us know your experiences with Spotify.
Originally posted 2013-02-10 12:43:16.
by John | Dec 3, 2020 | iTunes & Spotify Training, Spotify
Click the title for full post:
Another question about Spotify:
I was off to teach a class on Friday and always listen to my playlist on the drive over and all the songs were skipping. I tried rebooting my iPhone and still no luck. Luckily I had my iTunes playlist on my phone and did another profile for class. The problem is still there and the Spotify site is no help in solving this issue. Have you heard of this problem? I am ready to cancel my account …… Any ideas?
It sounds like these playlists haven't been set to Available Offline
Spotify works so well when connected to a wireless network you get the impression that all the music is right there on your device. Make the setting change shown here so your playlist is ready to play.
I recommend always turning your iPhone to Airplane Mode when you are teaching so your class isn't interrupted by a call.
Originally posted 2011-08-21 08:55:55.
