Screenshot via Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious generated by ChatGPT
Spotify has added Running Mode, a new feature that builds a running playlist around your pace, goals, and music taste instead of leaving you to assemble one by hand. The feature is available now to Premium subscribers on iOS in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.
To find it, search "Running Mode" in the Spotify app and select the Running Mode genre from the results. The feature doesn't actually surface inside the Fitness Hub, even though Spotify's own announcement frames it as part of that hub.
You can choose from five workout types: Just Run, Easy Run, Interval Run, Pyramid Run, and Long Run. Each type comes with four music genre choices: Pop, Hip Hop, EDM, and Rock. And the playlists include optional spoken audio cues to guide you through your workout.
Running Mode runs on Prompted Playlists, the Spotify feature that turns a written description into an AI-generated custom playlist. Spotify shows you the exact prompt behind each Running Mode playlist, so you can edit it directly instead of just picking from presets. While you can view the prompt on your phone, you can only edit it using the Spotify Web app.
For example, the prompt for the Interval Run - Pop reads: "I am going for a run. Build me a playlist of music to accompany and guide me. Make the music choice random based on what's popular on Spotify, but make it Pop. I want to run for 30 minutes. Make it an interval run. The tempo should be around 150 BPM, matched to my running pace."
I changed the prompt to pull from my listening history instead of what's popular on Spotify, reduced the BPM to 140, and made the music all in a major key. It took about 5 minutes to generate the new playlist, including automatically increasing the tempo and cues for the interval training.
The Spotify Running Mode playlists show the beats per minute and the Camelot Key, which DJs use for harmonic mixing.
Screenshots via Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious
Anyone who already pays for Spotify Premium and runs regularly can try Running Mode as part of their existing subscription. It doesn't require a separate sign-up or add-on purchase.
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