Retirement of our Running Feature

[meahtenoha]

Hey everyone, the Spotify Community team here.

We’re here to let you know we will be retiring our Running feature on 26 February 2018.

We always take retiring features in Spotify very seriously. We’re pouring our energy into new ways of creating the best experience for our users.

Of course, you can still workout with Spotify as your Running companion. You can find Running playlists in the Workout section of Browse section.

You can also connect your Spotify running music with an exercise app. Check out our support articles on Nike+ Run Club and Runkeeper for more information.

If you’re interested to learn more about how the app evolves, check out our article about testing and why features change.

Please post here with any questions or feedback you might have. We’ll be sure it reaches the right teams.

Thanks!

[illuminati229]

Very disappointed in the removal of this feature. I've used it for every run since Arpil 2016 and normally run 3 to 4 times a week.

Also, it was posted 3 weeks ago and the first comment is this Monday when the feature was actually removed. Doesn't seem like good notification of the user base.

[akis]

Can you at least make the music available in a form of a playlist?

I think that is the least you can do after disappointing so many users

[dramatic_agent]

It is EXTREMELY dissapointing. It really helped with tempo runs. I got premium only because of this feature and now it is gone!!! I am very unhappy. Could you please bring it back? Btw, the playlists you are proposing as alternatives are useless..... way to jumpy tempo.... and no extra beat to help you with the pace like it was in the spotify made pieces in for example "The Chase" or "Epic" playlists......

[sarabee]

Like so many others on this thread, this feature was what set Spotify apart from other music streaming services for me. Especially with spring upon us and more of us wanting to run outside, it’s so disappointing to lose the feature that keeps my running on pace. And with no warning in the app, I’ve now lost the playlist that I used every morning with no way to find my favorite running songs. This is in no way an improvement to your app - whoever had this idea should be fired. Please put it back!!!

[Timothy36]

Really sad to see another useful feature go away (after Touch Preview on iOS). I used it quite often and loved to run to my playlist. I really hope that you bring it back, after seeing that there are a lot of people that used it often. 

The difference between a 150 bpm run and a 160 bpm is noticible... 

Please consider bringing it back. 

[mmdarby82]

I almost cancelled my Spotify membership after my 3-month trial but only kept it once I found the running feature. Without the ability to match my music to my pace I see no reason to keep Spotify. 

Retiring this feature has effectively retired my membership!

[chiviup]

Nike run club with music seem to be iphone only and run keeper opens spotify but it just showes the music I previous browsed like when I open spotify without run keeper, Dont understand how to get music by bpm. Also I run indoors at the gym and need to be able to set the bpm manually.

[Sclark92]

I’m not sure if I’m just speaking for myself, but the running feature is the only reason I pay for the app. There’s free music all over the internet that is very easily transferred onto any device. Running was the only thing that kept your app unique. 

Later spotify it’s been real.

[dramatic_agent]

I am looking into alternatives..... found Rock my run, any experiences? maybe other suggestions?

@Spotify.... why did you have to delete this feature and the playlists as well? costs, royalies or sth? I and probably a lot more users would be willing to pay a little extra for that feature if it would be availble to buy........as an add in or sth like that.... could that possibly be done? I do not even know what were the pieces so no way of finding them back 😞 

[tgyarfas]

I think it is a bad idea. I expected from Spotify an improved version, not to cut up features. The key point is to have a running phase (ie 160SPM), and not a range (150 to 165) which in my opinion does not make sense... I hope Spotify will listen to its users

[Grrronken]

This was really the only reason why I am a Spotify customer and clearly distinguished Spotify from the competition.

Good bye Spotify, that's it for me.

[Muskrat121]

This feature got me through a marathon and I was planning on it getting me through another one. But I guess I'm going to have to look elsewhere. Please, please bring this back, or at the very least give an exceptionally good explanation as to why you removed it. This is some serious double mild weak sauce.

[stellanow]

Like most of the other posts on here- the running feature is the reason I started paying for spotify. As a paying customer I'm really dissappointed. I don't listen to it EVERYTIME I run but when I do listen to it while running it's often what's driving me to get a tough run started and finished. What an awful surprise for this morning's run. 

[chizdippler]

Oh so the ONLY thing in the "Browse" section that I use is gone but I have "Dinner", "Christian" and "I'm with the Banned"? Lame. Really really lame. 

At the worst make it a Premium feature.

[gregist]

For me, this feature was what set Spotify far above other music services. While I hadn’t seen a new list added to the “Running” genre in almost 2 years, I was still very happy to use the feature to quickly adjust my music tempo to match my running cadence. The new playlists just don’t cut it, and it takes too much fandangling for simple adjustment to match cadence. While the Nike+ app does offer a cadence-playlist feature, I don't like being forced into another app environment just to access this feature. And again, it takes a bit of messing around on the phone to adjust tempo. I am genuinely disappointed to see this go, and I am very hopeful for it’s return...even if it is not “actively managed.”

[nakyol]

This is a horrible decision and so upsetting and absolutely will be the reason that I (and clearly many others, see the separate thread about this started by the community) stop using Premium. Bring back please. ASAP. Seriously.

[AliRae]

This is truly disappointing.  As many other Spotify Premium users have stated, this is my favorite feature of the app and has kept me motivated during my runs.  I have advised a number of people to download the app for the running features alone.  If Spotify does not have the common business sense to listen to its customers and reverse this, I intend to take my business elsewhere, to a company that can provide a service worth paying for.

[mike_waclo]

I was about to start a 9-mile run this morning, and was devastated to find that this feature was missing. I've been using the Running feature since it was introduced in 2015, and it's been wonderful for keeping me running at a consistent tempo, and using music to motivate me to push toward higher tempos than I was used to.

The running playlists that exist under the "Workout" section of "Browse" simply aren't reliable enough, as their BPM fluctuates widely between 150 and 165 BPM. Not to mention the lack of the "Recommended for You" running mix, which surfaced music I already loved while I ran.

I'd recommended Spotify to friends for years because of this amazing feature set, and honestly, I feel a bit heart-broken by it's removal. I've been a Spotify customer for years before running was even a feature, and I can't believe today I'm actually considering moving my family's subscription to Apple Music over this loss.

[Quix42]

This is a huge mistake on your part. This was the only reason I pay my monthly subscription. It was the main differentator between you and your competition and also so helpful when running.

[rnapii]

Oh dear. Being able to choose the playlist BPM was the most important Spotify feature for me. The running playlists are not the same thing at all, and there are plenty of other music options which integrate better with my running setup, so I guess there's not much point in keeping Premium anymore. 

This was a unique feature that as far as I know no other music service offers: I really dont understand why you would choose to lose that.