Spotify: How to Create Your Perfect Workout Soundtrack Mix Using AI
Spotify brings its impressive algorithm to an exercise playlist system called Soundtrack Your Workout. It doesn't even require a paid subscription.
The newest feature to join Spotify is Soundtrack Your Workout and it brings the vaunted Spotify algorithm into your fitness routine. With this update, the time-honored tradition of standing up in full workout gear, frantically compiling a playlist finally comes to an end, as Spotify's robots will do that job for you. It'll take a little setup, but knowing the Spotify algorithm, it'll likely add a lot to your workout.
Spotify adds new functionality on a very regular basis. The company has always been data-focused, often turning to the numbers to see how users employ the app's features and determine how to better meet their needs. As a result, most Spotify updates feel like they're designed to solve specific problems or improve specific tasks people would otherwise do manually. The 2020 release of Spotify Kids, for example, reportedly came about as a response to the number of people putting together playlists of music from children's shows and movies.
Spotify's new Soundtrack Your Workout playlist feature was similarly inspired. According to the Spotify blog, the company realized there are over a million playlists with "workout" in the title and tried to find ways to improve the experience with that in mind. The post also references the impacts of the coronavirus on people's exercise habits. Without gyms or fitness classes to visit, most people are now in charge of what they listen to during a workout. Ideally, this service will not only help people find music but should also match it to their exercise type and mood. It's available now and it works whether you're a premium subscriber or not.
Unlike most Spotify updates, this one will require a little leg work. To start using Soundtrack Your Workout, you'll have to answer a quiz on the Spotify website. This questionnaire apparently helps the AI figure out what to add to your playlist. That's important considering how the algorithm works for things like the famous Spotify Weekly playlist. That playlist is built based on your listening habits, how you rate songs, and how those choices compare to other tracks and other people's habits.
In this case, the service needs to cover all of those bases while also matching songs to your workout choices such as tempo and duration. It also adds the option to incorporate podcasts from specific categories into the playlist. You'll select things like the type of exercise, whether you want explicit content, and whether you're listening solo. After finally choosing a genre, the playlist should be added to the basic Spotify interface, and it'll update automatically from there, presumably based on the same logic as the platform's other playlists. It's also possible to add multiple playlists with different preferences for a variety of workout scenarios.
Source: Spotify