The Feed.fm
Workout Music Report
Pop is (still) top
Pop music continued to dominate as the most popular genre for workout music. 2023 fitness app users gravitated toward positive, upbeat, danceable pop, but also had a preference for workout music tracks that featured familiar throwback hits.
Collaborations for win!
Collaborations reign supreme across trending music in pop (as well as EDM, Latin music, and hip-hop), bringing the fanbases of established artists together to launch their mega-hit songs.
Hip-hop at 50
"Hip-hop has transported from the specific neighborhoods that birthed this music to the global stage, while communicating powerfully about the individual, often marginalized experiences of its creators . . . Run-DMC’s “Walk This Way” (1986) was the first of three power punches into the mainstream, followed by Dr. Dre’s The Chronic (1992). Puff Daddy landed the finishing blow with his album, No Way Out (1997).”
Eric “Stens” Stensvaag, Director of Curation at Feed.fm
As quoted in DiMA’s Streaming Hip-Hop Music Forward 2023 report.
What's the biggest trend in music for fitness? Nostalgia
At Feed.fm, we follow the latest music trends throughout the year and have found that while featuring new music is important, a good workout music strategy also knows when to stick with the tried-and-true hits.
Classic rock and throwback stations continue to deliver some of the best music for workouts as older songs find new audiences through social media and mature audiences find inspiration in old favorites.
Get the full report to see top 10 lists for the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s.
Throwback
“Consumption of hip-hop and throwback programming will continue to grow as Millennials and Gen X outnumber the boomers. Hip-hop has produced some solid up-and-coming rappers that are collaborating with pop stars such as Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift. This new batch of MCs such as Ice Spice, Latto, and Coi Leray are building ground for huge careers.”
Juan Hernandez-Cruz, Sr. Curator at Feed.fm
The rise of Latin music
Latin artists made a big impact on popular music in 2023 as well. Spanish-language music is showing up across multiple genres, and we saw a 3x increase in the number of Latin workout music stations being delivered via Feed.fm this year.
From legendary collaborations to reggaeton-inspired beats being used by non-Latin artists, there’s no sign of slowing down as Spanish-speaking artists become household names across the US while delivering some of the best music for fitness.
See all of the top 10 lists by genre in the full report.
Afrobeats
This year we also saw Afrobeats artists solidify their spot in the music ecosystem and across Feed.fm channels. The percussive stylings of this genre have long influenced other artists and genres and now these songs are topping the charts and providing motivational workout music. 2023 brought "Calm Down" by Rema and Selena Gomez to the number one spot in the pop genre and the number two spot for overall streams across digital fitness apps.
Clean workout music
As a leading provider of music streaming for businesses and apps, we know first-hand the importance of being able to deliver clean workout music.
Understanding your audience and providing age-appropriate music is a direct representation of your brand. When it comes to lyrics and context, we’ve found most businesses feel comfortable with a PG- or PG-13–style rating, while others offer special family-friendly options to accommodate the youngest fitness enthusiasts.
Listen to the top workout music playlist
