Running and music: two great pastimes that go great together. It’s no surprise that software is helping people connect those worlds.
Boston-based RunKeeper has updated its iOS fitness-tracking app to integrate the streaming-music service Spotify. That means Spotify’s premium users can now access their playlists and listen to songs from within the RunKeeper app. Spotify will also provide some fitness-related playlists in the app. RunKeeper says music integration is one of the most popular things its users have asked for over the years.
It also sounds like a bigger opportunity for RunKeeper to explore what can be done by combining music and fitness data. For many runners, songs and playlists are a big part of motivating their workouts and fighting through boredom and pain (or so I’m told).
If RunKeeper can reach more users in deeper and more consistent ways, it would help the company differentiate its software in a crowded field of health-and-fitness apps and services.
Meanwhile, Spotify is no stranger to Boston-area startups. The Swedish company acquired The Echo Nest, a music recommendation firm, for an undisclosed sum last March.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
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