Mindbody Is The Latest Wellness Platform To Strike A Music Deal

SAN LUIS OBISPO, United States — Mindbody is the latest wellness platform to strike a music partnership, as the two mega industries continue to form an alliance.

The deal will see Epidemic Sound — a platform for restriction-free music — soundtrack Mindbody’s fitness experiences, meaning fitness and wellness businesses using Mindbody’s platform will be eligible to access a library of over 35,000 tracks for use in live, on-demand and streaming classes.

Commenting on the partnership, Mindbody’s Vice President of Global Partnerships, Jaimie Fucillo explained:

“Fitness and wellness studios can face excessive costs and complex legalities when attempting to license music to pair with classes. Epidemic Sound removes that burden, allowing our customers to focus on what they do best — delivering memorable and impactful fitness and wellness experiences.”

Adding: “The only platform of its kind that allows use across all class types — in-person, on-demand and live streaming — Epidemic Sound is an invaluable tool for studios as they navigate reopening and balance both live and virtual offerings.”

According to Mindbody, an Epidemic Sound commercial subscription will include unlimited downloads of tracks and sound effects, unlimited use in digital ads and across social media platforms, and the ability to search albums and playlists by genres, moods, activities, length and beats per minute (BPM) — a critical component for the fitness industry when choosing songs.

The announcement follows several similar partnerships over the past 12 months. In January, Universal Music Group licensed its catalogue to Equinox Media’s Variis, a digital fitness platform featuring content from Equinox, SoulCycle, Rumble and others. The collaboration has meant Equinox Media now has access to songs by popular artists including Drake, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd.

Indoor cycling brand Peloton has launched several music-focused partnerships with individual artists, including Beyonce, Prince and DJ Tiesto. Most recently it announced a year-long partnership with cultural phenomenon Verzuz — a ‘face-off’ musical platform that has grown to prominence amid global lockdowns.

Read More: Peloton Ups The Ante With Another Heavy-Hitting Partnership

Apple Fitness+, meanwhile, offers close integration with Apple Music. Not only do workouts on the platform feature tracks from the Apple Music library, but Fitness+ playlists are also available within Apple Music.

And, with the pandemic accelerating the growth of at-home fitness offerings, reliance on music as a draw to live-streamed and on-demand classes led by remote instructors is only intensifying.

In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, digital fitness already represents hundreds of millions of dollars to labels and publishers, with Equnox’ Media Cheif Executive, Jason LaRose telling the publication:

“These classes are like going to a concert — 60 people in the dark rocking back and forth, riding together to the beat, boxing sequences to the rhythm. It’s our job to re-create the real-life experience where we can in an on-demand world.”

He continued: “Music is a key part of what looks like is going to be a booming digital fitness market.”

Elsewhere, Peloton’s Head of Music, Gwen Riley has predicted that the convergence of music, narrative and visuals with an elevated experiential workout, will become the future of workouts. And Mindbody, it appears, is betting on the same outcome.