Spotify running mode launches for Premium iOS users in select countries

Spotify running mode is rolling out as the company pushes further into fitness listening, giving Premium subscribers a way to build music around a run instead of picking a playlist before they head out. For everyday investors watching Spotify, the feature shows the audio platform trying to make its app more useful during workouts, a use case where music, coaching cues and fitness apps already compete for attention.

TechCrunch reported that the new mode is available starting Wednesday for Spotify Premium users on iOS in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. The feature sits inside Spotify’s Fitness Hub, according to the report.

What is Spotify running mode?

Running Mode is a feature in Spotify’s mobile app that selects songs for different parts of a run based on a listener’s music preferences and tempo. Tempo, often shown as beats per minute, is the speed of a track and can help match music to a runner’s pace.

Premium users can choose from 25 presets, TechCrunch reported. The workout options include interval runs, steady runs and pyramid runs, and users can adjust the session length, beats per minute and the style of music they want.

The feature is designed to change what plays as a run changes. That means Spotify can cue music for separate stages of the workout rather than treating the whole run as one static playlist.

How the feature works during a run

Running Mode can also generate audio cues for different stages of a run, according to TechCrunch. Those spoken prompts are limited to English for now.

Spotify has been testing more artificial intelligence tools around playlists, including prompted playlists over the past year, TechCrunch reported. The company said many users were already creating playlists for fitness and workout activities with those tools, and that behavior helped inspire Running Mode.

Prompted playlists are playlists created from user instructions, such as a request for music that fits a mood or activity. In this case, Spotify is applying similar personalization to running, using inputs such as workout type and preferred tempo to shape the listening session.

Why Spotify is pushing into fitness

The launch follows other fitness-related moves by Spotify. Earlier this year, the company introduced fitness content with Peloton, the connected fitness device maker, according to TechCrunch.

Running Mode also arrives a couple of months after Strava said its Record feature would no longer integrate Spotify inside the Strava app. Strava’s Record feature is used to track workouts, and the change removed one path for listening to Spotify from within that fitness experience.

For Spotify users, the immediate takeaway is straightforward: Premium subscribers on iPhone in the listed countries can try a run-focused mode that mixes personalized music with workout structure. For the company, it adds another reason for fitness-minded listeners to spend time inside Spotify’s own app rather than relying on integrations elsewhere.

This story draws on original reporting from TechCrunch.