Spotify today unveiled an updated mobile experience that will provide customized recommendations and tunes tailored to the intensity of your workout. The service will also branch out beyond music to incorporate video clips from partners like Vice and Comedy Central.
On mobile, Spotify is adding a "Now" start page, which will serve up music based on the time of day, much like Music Concierge within (the now Google-owned) Songza.
"Because Now learns what you like, you'll be sure to hear the right music—selected from our in-house experts and your personal collection—whatever the occasion," Spotify said. "Recommendations will adapt over time to fit your taste and mood."
The Now experience will arrive today on iPhone for those in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Sweden, with more locations coming soon.
For the exercise enthusiasts, meanwhile, Spotify Running promises to serve up content based on your tempo and listening history. "Start running and Spotify will detect your tempo, matching the perfect music in time to your step – making you a harder, better, faster, stronger runner," the company said.
Spotify Running will start rolling out to iPhone users globally today, and will also be available on the Nike+ and RunKeeper apps later this year.
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But Spotify will also be branching out beyond music into video clips. The company has teamed up with a number of partners (Vice Media, BBC, and more) to add video clips and audio shows to Spotify.
In screen shots, it looks like you can follow a media company like Vice just as you would a musical artist. Instead of tracks, though, you'll find short clips, which will play inside the Spotify app.
Spotify will also have original content, including six tracks just for Spotify Running. "We're also introducing a range of exclusive content, from Dance Move of the Day produced by Amy Poehler's Smart Girls brand, to specially curated radio shows presented by artists including Icona Pop, Jungle, and Tyler the Creator," Spotify said.
That will go up against Jay Z's Tidal music service, which has also tried to distinguish itself by offering original content and exclusives, in additional to high-def streaming.
"We're bringing you a deeper, richer, more immersive Spotify experience," Daniel Ek, founder and CEO of Spotify, said in a statmeent. "We want Spotify to help soundtrack your life by offering an even wider world of entertainment with an awesome mix of the best music, podcasts and video delivered to you throughout your day. And we're just getting started."
Whether video clips will have any traction on the music-focused Spotify remains to be seen. In 2011, the company added apps, including one from Rolling Stone, which had staff playlists and music reviews with built-in access to the songs being discussed. By 2014, however, Spotify ditched apps in favor of a new Web API.
For more, check out 19 Spotify Tricks That Will Make You a Streaming Samurai.