Universal Music has a brand new music app out for iPhone and Android – the latest release under its U-Apps brand. The app is David Lloyd Playlist, which appears to be a partnership with the UK-based chain of fitness clubs.
The app – available for iOS and Android – is similarly healthy in ambition: “10 Playlists of music for warming up, jogging, spinning, strength training and more,” according to its app store listing. “Working with Dr. Costas Karageorghis from Brunel University, one of the world’s leading sports scientists, our team of expert curators update your app with fresh music every week so there’s always something new to listen to when you get to the gym.”
Playlists can be downloaded to the device for offline listening, while individual tracks can also be favourited for similar cacheing. Artists including J-Lo, The Pussycat Dolls, Black Eyed Peas, Rizzle Kicks, Bastille, Jessie J, Disclosure and Emeli Sandé all feature.
New users get a 28-day free trial before being asked to sign up for a subscription: £4.99 a month for David Lloyd members, and £6.99 a month for everyone else. They’ll pay via debit or credit card rather than in-app purchase.
It’s the latest in a series of attempts by Universal to explore new forms of digital music services focused on particular demographics or customer groups, including the youth-focused Monkey with UK telco Orange in 2011 and free mobile service The Kleek in Africa, launched in 2013 with Samsung as a partner. Universal is also an investor in UK startup MusicQubed, which runs the O2 Tracks download subscription service in the UK.
David Lloyd Playlist isn’t the first fitness-focused music app from a label, though. Sony Music already has the NOW Running app, based on the popular compilations brand. Meanwhile, Ministry of Sound released a Running Trax app in 2012, but it’s since been removed from the stores.
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