New Year New You: How Spotify listeners stream to reach their fitness goals

Whether it’s fun runs at the park, a new gym routine, strength-building yoga, or muddy bike rides at the weekend, the new year for many is a time to set new fitness goals, and hit the ground running.

And to keep us on track, there’s no better motivator than music.¹

First off, listening to music while working out is nothing new—we all feel better when our favorite jam is helping us power through—but soundtracked workouts really take off at the start of the year.

In January 2023, we saw a notable 39% increase in workout playlist streams vs December 2022, and a 42% increase in yoga playlist streams for the same period, in the US.² Which suggests that Spotify listeners are serious about sticking to their fitness goals. So we decided to dig a little deeper and find out how their wellness and streaming journey plays out through the first three months of the year (Q1 2022), compared to the final three months of the year before (Q4 2021).

It turns out Spotify is a reliable workout companion way beyond January, which creates an extended, hyper-contextualized audience targeting opportunity for advertisers promoting health-, wellness- and fitness-related products.

Grab your sneakers and let’s run those numbers...

Our workout playlists* are packed full of bouncy, high-tempo tunes to help get people in the zone—a great context for brands with a similarly upbeat personality.

In Q1 2022, workout streams increased by 35% compared with Q4 2021, as listeners dug deep into their fitness plans.³ Breaking this down further, most workout streams occurred on Tuesdays (~15%), falling to ~12% on Sundays (a well-deserved rest day). And during the day, workout streams peaked late mornings on Saturdays and Sundays, and in the early evening from Monday to Friday.⁴

Being lean doesn’t necessarily mean committing to a full-blown cardio workout routine. Building core strength through weightlifting is another big fitness goal at this time of year—and another activity that plays out on Spotify playlists like Beast Mode, Gym Beats, and Rap Workout.

Weightlifting* streams jumped 32% from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022⁵, and were higher between January and March than any other three-month period in 2022. Meanwhile, most streams occurred on Tuesday (~16%) and—once again—dipped on Sundays to ~10%.⁶

For bikers, the colder months are a great time to hit the roads, hills and dirt tracks to get that heart rate up—all that fresh air is good for the lungs, and those lycra shorts aren’t going to wear themselves. In fact—according to how they stream—bikers don’t let weather stand in their way whatever the season, and that’s great news for health and fitness brands with always-on audio advertising strategies.

Biking playlist* streams jumped 8% from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022⁷, and a further 8% in Q2 2022. In Q1, most biking streams occurred on Wednesday (~15%), with the fewest occurring on Sundays (~13%). During the day, biking streams peaked late mornings to early afternoons on Saturdays and Sundays—likely as the soundtrack to a big weekend ride—and during the early evening hours from Monday to Friday, consistent with the hometime commute.⁸

You don’t have to work up a sweat to work out. With a progressive routine, yoga can do wonderful things for your physical and mental wellbeing. The pace may be slower, but music can still be a great source of motivation when you’re trying desperately to hold that Taraksvasana (if you don’t know it, Google it, and prepare for a shock).

Yoga playlist* streams leaped 35% in Q1 2022, compared with the previous quarter, and—like biking—continued upwards in Q2 2022, seeing a further 5% lift.⁹ This tells us that Spotify listeners are sticking to the plan, and hitting their fitness goals in time for the summer. Most yoga streams occurred on Wednesday (~16%) and dropped to ~13% on Saturdays and Sundays, while streams peak in the morning seven days a week.¹⁰

The next step for advertisers…

These streaming insights highlight a key opportunity for advertisers: Create a targeted seasonal marketing campaign for your fitness- and wellbeing-related brand that reaches your audience at a contextually relevant moment, when they’re primed to hear about products or services that will help them achieve their goals.

Listening to music while exercising is a great way for anyone to keep their fitness goals on track, and Spotify is a trusted companion for providing personalized playlists that advertisers can target in their media plans. Playlists like Beast Mode, Motivation Mix, Power Workout, and Yoga & Meditation are an ideal fit—and you could even sponsor one of them.

A new year, a new you… a new or renewed approach to advertising? Create your first or next ad today with Spotify Ad Studio, our self-serve advertising platform designed for all brands and business sizes.

＊Moments are defined based on keywords from Spotify-created playlist titles and descriptions, as well as Spotify editorial category classifications.