New Music Industry Observation original article, unauthorized reproduction is prohibited
Author | Wang So
In the past two years, the relationship between "fitness" and "music" has become closer and closer, and many well-known musicians with different styles and personalities are in Try getting into the fitness industry. Last year, Beyoncé collaborated with American fitness equipment Parade to create a series of fitness classes. The company also adapted Elvis Presley's songs to be suitable for listening to during exercise with the help of electronic music artist DJ Dillion. Remix version.
Justin Vernon, a member of the American folk band Wonderful Winter (Bon Iver), even personally composed music for the fitness video series "Move More" on YouTube. In addition, Dwayne Johnson has also recently announced the music he listens to while working out, which includes well-known hits such as " Hotel California ".
Long before this trend of "no separation of music and body" began, using music to improve exercise effects has become an unconscious instinct in human life. This may be why we always subconsciously wear it when running. The reason for listening to music through headphones. A survey by "Runner's World", the world's authoritative magazine in the field of running, shows that among all runners, "headphone addicts" account for as high as 61%.
With the development of scientific research and technology, people have become more and more aware of the topic of "how music can assist sports", and the cooperation between the two industries has also shown a more sophisticated and diversified trend.
Music and sports: the best partners!
As early as thousands of years ago, someone theoretically summarized the auxiliary effect of music on exercise. In the jumping competitions of the ancient Greeks, someone would play the flute. According to records, Philostrad, the wise man at that time, believed that the use of music in jumping competitions could make athletes "more rhythmic." with advantages”.
With the development of science, people have a more accurate understanding of the connection between music and sports. Research shows that listening to music at different stages of exercise has different effects on exercise effects. An experiment published in the sports journal "Perception and Motor Skills" showed that compared with bodybuilders who did not listen to music before training, the average number of bench presses completed by bodybuilders who listened to music and then trained increased by 15.4%.
Phelps was once questioned for listening to music before a game.
During exercise and during the recovery process after exercise, music can relieve subjective fatigue and promote physical recovery - this is absolutely not true. It is just a psychological effect. A controlled study by the Morley School of Education at the University of Edinburgh found that in the presence of music, the ability of mentally fatigued fitness enthusiasts to run intervals was moderately increased, and was even at the same level as that of the non-mentally fatigued control group. same level.
A set of comparative experiments published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" also showed that compared with the control group who did not listen to music, the blood lactate concentration of subjects listening to music dropped more significantly during the recovery process, and the body recovered faster. Faster.
The type of music you listen to during exercise is also a science. There are many studies on this aspect in the academic circle, and some of the conclusions are beyond ordinary people's expectations. For example, British neuroscientist Jack Lewis found that compared to fast-paced modern dance music, playing classical music during exercise is more helpful in improving the effectiveness of exercise because it can reduce the level of the human body's stress hormone cortisol.
More research shows that compared with the type of music itself, athletes' love for songs may not be ignored. Related experiments of Nanjing Institute of Physical Education show that compared with the "fast-paced music group" and "slow-paced music group" Compared with students who listen to their favorite music and exercise can persist for longer .
Data source: "The Effect of Musical Auditory Stimulation during Exercise on Aerobic Treadmill Exercise Fatigue"
Higher-level athletes no longer only have requirements for music in terms of "slow" or "fast", but have begun to consider it as "slow" or "fast". To control the BPM (beats per minute) of the song, the American Sports and Physical Fitness Association believes that the music tempo for jogging and walking activities should be between 120-140 BPM, while for fast running, you can choose music above 135 BPM . For weight training, choose music with a strong beat but not too fast (130-140 BPM).
When people’s understanding of “music Buff” during exercise gradually transitions from vague life experience to rigorous natural science theory, the use of music in the fitness industry will inevitably become more and more professional and rich.
fitness company? He's obviously a DJ!
In cooperating with the sports industry, the music industry has the ability to make a great contribution and gain a lot, the most intuitive of which is the royalty income. The VR fitness game "Supernatural" has only been launched for one year, and the number of users has grown much faster than the industry average. According to the founder of the game, the current game subscription fee is US$19 per month, and part of this money will be used To pay music royalties.
In addition to the direct costs, the fitness industry's use of music can also increase the impact of the songs. First of all, many gyms and fitness coaches , out of work needs, will create "fitness playlists" on major music platforms. This is an extremely effective promotion of songs. A survey by the music research company MusicWatch shows that in Among users of Spotify and Apple Music, more than 80% of paid subscribers use music streaming services every day, and half listen to songs in the playlist every time they use them.
What's more, for gym consumers, this playlist is definitely not a list that can be clicked to favorites and then never remembered again. Every time you sweat like rain in the gym, or even every time you go home and want to practice again, This playlist has the potential to be used. As long as the songs in it can attract people who exercise, the song may be moved from the fitness playlist to the daily playlist.
The same is true for the music used in online fitness software and fitness games. Whenever users start using these products, the music inside will be heard. In cooperation with the music industry, fitness track companies also play a role. The role of DJ.
Because of music, the fitness business has become more "sexy"
When "what songs to listen to when exercising" has a more professional theoretical basis, the "fitness playlist" on major music APPs and the BGM in the gym have also begun to reform , the genre is no longer limited to "good jumping" and "good running".
In 2015, the music streaming platform Spotify cooperated with Shaun T, the founder of the well-known aerobics "Insanity", and Costas Karageorghis, a professor of sports psychology. Based on factors such as BPM, rhythm, melody and different sports, it recommends to users the best exercises to inspire fitness Effects of music .
Some music recommended by Costas Karageorghis, professor of sports psychology
When existing songs on the market cannot meet the increasingly sophisticated fitness needs, some companies began to independently develop music. The Chinese smart fitness company FITURE hired more than 10 people from Berklee College of Music Creators from , the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and other universities are responsible for the creation of fitness course music.
With the evolution of social concepts and consumer economic levels, the meaning of "fitness" is also changing. Using Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid" as a yardstick to judge, in the traditional fitness concept, the purpose of exercise is mainly concentrated at the bottom of the pyramid, that is, physiological needs and safety needs. People who exercise simply want to stay healthy and avoid diseases. .
But in recent decades, the purpose of the movement has begun to become more diverse, encompassing almost all needs in the "needs hierarchy pyramid".
In addition to exercising, the purpose of people walking into the gym or opening a fitness APP may also be to socialize, play games, take photos and post them on Moments, or even just to tell themselves "I am a sophisticated and self-disciplined person" in order to satisfy the consumption of the younger generation. With the increasing needs of consumers in sports, the temperament of fitness industry has become more and more trendy with the dual help of commercial packaging and technological development. After fitness companies enter the field of trendy culture, the reasonable use of music can make exercise more "sexy".
The group exercise class that has emerged in recent years is a good example. For many athletes, the significance of group exercise has transcended a sport and become a channel for them to display their aesthetics and vent their emotions. Sports and fitness brand SpaceCycle’s group exercise classes will select different music according to the needs of the students. According to Zhao Yanjie, the company’s general manager in China: “The coach himself and many other students will cry in class because of the simple and easy-to-understand lyrics during exercise. It often hits the heart suddenly.”
In addition to group exercise classes, SpaceCycle also incorporates music elements into other fitness programs, such as making the room where fitness equipment is placed into a "nightclub style", playing dynamic EDM, and sometimes there are DJs playing on site, in gyms and discos. The dividing lines are gradually blurring, and you can no longer tell who is the main one between fitness and listening to music.
In the consumption scenario of home fitness, music also plays an important role. In order to make up for the shortcomings of atmosphere and space in the home environment, companies in this field try to gamify fitness. Switch's fitness ring , as well as "Lanebreak" and "Supernatural" mentioned above, are all typical cases. .
Take the fitness ring as an example. The logic of this product is to allow users holding the ring device to control and manipulate the game characters on the screen by making actions such as jumping and running in place. This set of gameplay is essentially the same as traditional electronic devices. There is no difference between games, and for a game, the role of music is undoubted. Many excellent game companies, in order to improve the quality of music in games, have become "record companies delayed by games."
Listening to music, exercising, and exercising while listening to music are all human instincts. It is worth looking forward to how many novel ways of playing the business idea of combining music and sports can be hatched in the future.
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