A few weeks ago I noticed a new playlist along the left side of my main Spotify page titled Discover Weekly. I hadn’t put it there myself, so I clicked on it to see what it was all about and I was pleasantly surprised at the incredible mix of songs that it included. I investigated further and found that it’s a new feature that Spotify offers and it’s amazing! It’s like a fresh mix tape delivered to you every Monday.
According to Spotify, the songs included in your personal Discover Weekly playlist are based on your listening habits as well as what others are listening to. (Hint: Make sure you save your favorites because it will refresh every week! I created a new playlist called Discover Weekly Finds and then I will sort them out when I have more time.)
This week’s favorite song of the week is called Happy (no, not THAT Happy…) and it came straight from my personalized playlist. It’s from a group I’d never heard of called C2C (feat. Derek Martin) . Check out this video of them performing the song live. They’re using turntables to recreate the sounds of the drum and guitar and it’s pretty cool:
I used it as a climb, but it would certainly also make a great warm up or flat road.
The music industry is figuring out that a great Indoor Cycling class is built on a fabulous playlist. Now they're making noises that they feel they should be charging fitness studios a higher rate for their commercial performance licenses…
By Andrew Sparkler, Vice President, Business Affairs & Operations
At this year’s SXSW, SoulCycle teamed up with Spotify and some of their favorite DJs at what was dubbed as “an epic music and movement experience.” While the popular fitness club’s trip to Austin underscores the importance of music to its business, it is unclear if the music business is spinning to the same beat.
SoulCycle, launched in 2006, is now filing for an IPO. Its business is primarily based on offering a high intensity spin class led by an instructor who also serves as a DJ. Take a class, glance at their website or read their S-1 filing and it is clear that music is perhaps as essential to their business as the bikes themselves.
SoulCycle’s SEC filing characterizes its product as a “carefully curated ‘cardio party’ [that] is fueled by the personalities of our instructors, their uniquely crafted musical playlists and the energy of the room” and says that “[w]ith inspirational coaching and high-energy music, SoulCycle was created to strengthen both the mind and the body.” Their instructors go as far as to claim that music “is the most important part of what we do at SoulCycle.”
Performing rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI are on constant lookout for ways to generate royalties for their songwriters and rights holders, but one publishing exec (and former ASCAP vp) argues they need to look harder — maybe even break a sweat — when dealing with your favorite fitness center.
In an op-ed for Medium, Downtown Publishing vp of business affairs Andrew Sparkler said PROs are dropping the proverbial medicine ball by classifying certain gyms under “general” licenses — the same umbrella as restaurants, bars and concert/sports venues — when music has become such an ubiquitous and personalized part of the workout experience.
To make his point, Sparkler cites the popular SoulCycle chain of spin classes, who in a recent SEC filing for an IPO called their product a “carefully curated ‘cardio party' [that] is fueled by the personalities of our instructors, their uniquely crafted musical playlists and the energy of the room.”
In its SEC filing, SoulCycle projects 2015 revenue to be around $140 million and said it hopes to expand to 250 locations (up from 36 in 2014) in the near future.
Sparkler figures each SoulCycle is currently bringing in about $3.1 million apiece for the company, but is only paying a tiny fraction of that to PROs under the “general” licenses for the music it plays. BMI, for example, charges fitness clubs a maximum of $2,123 per year per location — which would amount to .01 percent of what Sparkler estimates each SoulCycle makes. ASCAP also has a flat fee per location, but it slides depending on inflation.
According to his calculations, fitness center revenue increased over 104 percent in the U.S. between 2000 and 2014, and SoulCycle jumped 108 percent from 2012 to 2013 alone.
While noting that SoulCycle is doing nothing wrong — they’re simply paying the bills sent by PROs — it’s those rights groups that should tap into “this cultural phenomenon and increase their rates accordingly.”
So where does this lead? My guess is that ASCAP and BMI will be looking for ways to monetize (make more money) off the excitement surrounding SoulCycle/Indoor Cycling and the ease of music delivery from Spotify/iTunes Music = they'll be contacting clubs and studios with “revised” (read more expensive) license agreements.
As someone who prefers to maintain a level of fair exchange, I can't begrudge them for asking a higher rate than a sports bar or restaurant would pay. My only hope is that club/studio owners/managers recognise the value great music brings to our classes and not follow the LA Fitness path that pretends to save money by enforcing canned Muzac use by their Instructors 🙁
Many instructors tell me that teaching indoor cycling has ruined their appreciation of music. They say that once you become an instructor music comes in only two genres, can be used in class or not. This is sad but true. I have been experiencing a different problem since I started using video in my classes. Now when I watch YouTube videos they are put into the same categories. I am stuck in the never ending quest for the best videos to use in my classes. Every once in a while someone posts a gem that magically appears in my Facebook News Feed, this week the gem was posted by non other than our very own John Macgowan.
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I hope you like it and I wonder what would happen if the bike stalled?
Below you'll find Week 3 of July's Keep it Simple and Progress indoor cycling profile.
Workout Basics:
5 minute warmup
3 x 4 minute intervals with 30 seconds recovery after each
1 minute recovery after the third 4 minute interval
3 x 3 minute intervals with 30 seconds recovery after each
1 minute recovery after the third 3 minute interval
3 x 2 minute intervals with 30 seconds recovery after each
1 minute recovery after the third 2 minute interval
4,3,2 minute intervals with 30 seconds recovery after each
1 minute recovery after the 2 minute interval
4 x 30 second intervals with 1 minute recovery after each
5 minute cool down
3 x 4 minute interval goals and specifics:
1st 4 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 80-110 rpm at Threshold wattage, HR or RPE
30 second recovery or reset
2nd 4 minute interval should be ridden seated at 60-80 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as the 1st.
30 second recovery or reset
3rd 4 minute interval should ridden standing at 60-70 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as 2nd.
1 minute recovery or reset
3 x 3 minute interval goals and specifics:
1st 3 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 80-110 rpm a wattage, HR or RPE that is higher than the last 4 minute interval
30 second recovery or reset
2nd 3 minute interval should be ridden seated at 60-80 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as the 1st 3 minute interval
30 second recovery or reset
3rd 3 minute interval should ridden standing at 60-70 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as 2nd 3 minute interval
1 minute recovery or reset
3 x 2 minute interval goals and specifics:
1st 2 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 80-110 rpm a wattage, HR or RPE that is higher than the last 3 minute interval
30 second recovery or reset
2nd 2 minute interval should be ridden seated at 60-80 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as the 1st 2 minute interval
30 second recovery or reset
3rd 2 minute interval should ridden standing at 60-70 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as 2nd 2 minute interval
1 minute recovery or reset
4,3,2 minute interval goals and specifics:
4 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 80-110 rpm at Threshold wattage, HR or RPE
30 second recovery or reset
3 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 60-80 rpm at a wattage, HR or RPE that is higher than the last 4 minute interval
30 second recovery or reset
2 minute interval should ridden standing at 60-70 rpm at a wattage, HR or RPE that is higher than the last 3 minute interval
1 minute recovery or reset
3 x 30 second interval goals and specifics:
The 4 x 30 second intervals should be ridden at the riders choice RPM or position and should be ridden at maximum effort followed by a 1 minute recovery.
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Below you'll find Week 2 of July's Keep it Simple and Progress indoor cycling profile.
In order to keep it simple and progress I have kept the same series of intervals as last week but reduced the rest to just 45 seconds. Due to the reduced rest there's extra time, so I added three 30 second maximum effort intervals at the end of the workout.
Workout Basics:
5 minute warmup
3 x 4 minute intervals with 45 seconds recovery after each
3 x 3 minute intervals with 45 seconds recovery after each
3 x 2 minute intervals with 45 seconds recovery after each
4,3,2 minute intervals with 45 seconds recovery after each
3 x 30 second intervals with 1 minute recovery after each
5 minute cool down
3 x 4 minute interval goals and specifics:
1st 4 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 80-110 rpm at Threshold wattage, HR or RPE
45 second recovery or reset
2nd 4 minute interval should be ridden seated at 60-80 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as the 1st.
45 second recovery or reset
3rd 4 minute interval should ridden standing at 60-70 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as 2nd.
45 second recovery or reset
3 x 3 minute interval goals and specifics:
1st 3 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 80-110 rpm a wattage, HR or RPE that is higher than the last 4 minute interval
45 second recovery or reset
2nd 3 minute interval should be ridden seated at 60-80 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as the 1st 3 minute interval
45 second recovery or reset
3rd 3 minute interval should ridden standing at 60-70 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as 2nd 3 minute interval
45 second recovery or reset
3 x 2 minute interval goals and specifics:
1st 2 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 80-110 rpm a wattage, HR or RPE that is higher than the last 3 minute interval
45 second recovery or reset
2nd 2 minute interval should be ridden seated at 60-80 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as the 1st 2 minute interval
45 second recovery or reset
3rd 2 minute interval should ridden standing at 60-70 rpm at the same wattage, HR or RPE as 2nd 2 minute interval
45 second recovery or reset
4,3,2 minute interval goals and specifics:
4 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 80-110 rpm at Threshold wattage, HR or RPE
45 second recovery or reset
3 minute intervals should be ridden seated at 60-80 rpm at a wattage, HR or RPE that is higher than the last 4 minute interval
45 second recovery or reset
2 minute interval should ridden standing at 60-70 rpm at a wattage, HR or RPE that is higher than the last 3 minute interval
60 second recovery or reset
3 x 30 second interval goals and specifics:
The 3 x 30 second intervals should be ridden at the riders choice RPM or position and should be ridden at maximum effort followed by a 1 minute recovery.
[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']
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