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Now that we’re seeing some light at the end of this long tunnel, people are starting to reflect on the last year. There were plenty of personal growth opportunities and so many turbulent emotions. The business/work aspect of life has also been a somewhat conflicted experience, with some businesses thriving while others were knocked down hard. Countless artists and venues have had their lives and livelihoods turned upside down due to canceled performances and social distancing measures. But on the other hand, the same pandemic-related factors have helped music streaming reach new highs and motivated digital innovation across commerce, fitness, music, and many more segments.

“We’ve been on the road all day, driving along the coast. The sun is going down and finally so is the temperature — now it’s safe to roll your window down and let the warm breeze of the California dusk flow right in. Turn that radio up and gaze into the purples and pinks of the evening sky.

People are afraid to merge on freeways, but luckily we left LA behind long ago. Man, I look forward to those waves. Good times.”

Our PHC Cruise mixtape is perfect for sunny road trips or just conjuring that early-summer travel vibe. Featuring Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Tommy Tutone, Matthew Sweet, and more

Listen below or here 

Image Credit: Getty Images

We know how it is: you WANTED to keep your 2021 fitness goals...but this year feels an AWFUL LOT like 2020 so far...and you’re having trouble motivating for that run, bike ride, yoga class, etc. (Yes, we ARE still talking about our New Year’s Resolutions, even in March.)

Music can help! In a 2019 consumer survey of 1,000 people conducted by Feed Media Group (FMG)—a B2B music streaming company supporting MIRROR, FightCamp, Tonal, and dozens of other fitness brands—2/3 of respondents said that they’d skip a workout altogether if they couldn’t listen to music. And a detailed study by the Sports Medicine – Open journal found that people work out 28% longer per week when they have the right music.

So what’s the right music? Fortunately, FMG has data on millions of workout sessions with music. Here are some of the BEST exercise songs you can put to use in keeping your fitness resolution for 2021. And when in doubt, play Dua Lipa’s already-classic Future Nostalgia album.

Many consumer-facing businesses—fitness companies, retailers, conferences, etc.—have migrated online or doubled-down on digital over the past year. Regardless of how the pandemic ends or when the “new normal” arrives, it’s certain that fierce competition for attention in the digital landscape will remain. One of the proven differentiators that can significantly increase customer “stickiness” is music, and the demand for legal music integration has never been greater.

As a B2B music-as-a-service company, Feed Media Group (FMG) knows that music is a sound investment (pun intended), provided that you’re strategic about the way it’s incorporated First, the bad news: music licensing is famously complex and expensive. Confusing copyrights and upfront advances are daunting, sometimes resulting in costly delays to market.

The good news is that the music industry understands the vital role digital innovations such as streaming play in a thriving, stable music ecosystem. As COVID-19 continues forcing the world to find new ways to connect, there’s also a recognition that music rights holders could end up making even more money as they ride the next wave of technological evolution.

Music can bring about intense, measurable physiological changes. At Feed.fm, we talk a lot about music’s ability to get you through the tough parts of a workout through psychological and physiological stimulation. Because we are often focused on music’s impact on exercise, we tend to gravitate to its profound impact on endurance (music increases by 15%!) and perceived exertion (music decreases by 12%!). But we know that music also has the power to decrease arousal and bring heart rate, blood pressure and even body temperature down. For this post, I’ll be exploring the ability of music to down-regulate key body measurements and how it can help heal.

Music has been used as a relaxation tool for centuries, but we’re only recently seeing the impact through studies in academic settings. For example, a 2012 Chicago Medical School study found that music has beneficial effects in reducing blood pressure and heart rate in a variety of clinical settings, including pre-op and ICU. One of the true advantages of music in these settings is that there are zero side effects, which means anyone can take advantage of the positive impact.

Well, friends, it looks like it’s going to be a long winter. Case counts in my county are up 120% in the last two weeks and we’re back to purple status. As we prepare to hunker down for the next 4 months, I have realized it will take all the tools in the toolbox to stay sane and maintain some peace of mind this winter. With a demanding job and a demanding (awesome!) 3 year old, it takes more presence and proactive measures to stay balanced than it ever has. I know my colleagues and others around the country are in the same stressful boat.

My company spends a lot of time talking to smart people in the health and fitness industry, so I’ve gleaned some great tips. Let’s proactively try as many tactics as we can and share what works (over email or Zoom, of course)!

Here are 6 items and practices I’ll be integrating into my routine to stave off the blues in addition to daily exercise and meditation.

1. Full-spectrum light via a Light Box

Full-spectrum light covers the full electromagnetic spectrum and mimics daylight without harmful UV rays. I’ve used them for years with indoor plants, but never thought to leverage them for myself. I spend enough time sitting at the desk, that I figure it’s a worthwhile investment for 20-30 minutes a day.

Last December, our curation team made a handful of Music Trends for 2020 predictions, including that “songs have been getting slower, that’s going to change soon.” While this year has been full of unpleasant experiences, this modest prediction has proven accurate—resulting in a welcome number of upbeat, energetic chart hits. While others are busy publishing their year-end lists (which we also love), we wanted to celebrate some of the biggest artists and songs behind this trend of musical acceleration.

Before revealing 8 superstars largely responsible for the fact that Pop is Perking Up, let’s quickly rewind to the musically diverse but noticeably lethargic pop landscape of the 2010s. As professional music matchmakers for dozens of fitness companies, we experienced first-hand that lots of chart-toppers featured slower tempos and intensities than were appropriate for workouts. (Not coincidentally, pop remixes flourished over the past decade.) But don’t take our word for it: both Rolling Stone and The Daily Mail examined the trend in articles published August 2017, which dated this musical downshift back to at least 2012.

As this tumultuous year draws to a close, we salute the 8 pop stars below, who’ve made outstanding music with an appreciated boost in energy and optimism. The complex reasons Pop is Perking Up eclipse the scope of this article, but we suspect at least one of these is that musicians instinctively delivered an escapist counterbalance to the many downers of 2020.

Fitness has permanently changed. Since COVID-19’s arrival there’s been an explosion of online content, with brick-and-mortar gyms pivoting swiftly into digital programs their members can access at home, and digital fitness brands driving record growth. As coronavirus spikes across the country, the fitness industry continues transforming...even as gyms and studios consider safety precautions that will eventually allow users to return in greater numbers.

Over the past few months, we’ve often heard variations on the same question: “How can I legally live stream fitness classes with hit music?”

First, let’s get an ugly fact out of the way. Music licensing is famously complicated, with downloadable content, live streaming, public performances, and video sync all requiring different licenses from multiple rights holders. Our Music Licensing 101 webpage may be a helpful starting point for understanding these different use cases.

Check out our scare-tastic selections for a Top 25 Halloween Songs of All Time Playlist...

Listen to the full YouTube playlist here.

True Zombies (no-brainers)

Ghostbusters by Ray Parker, Jr.

Theme from “Stranger Things” by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein

Boris the Spider by The Who

Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish

Theme from "Halloween" by John Carpenter

“[Music] brings back the feeling of life when nothing else can.” — Neurologist & Musicophilia author Oliver Sacks

For many of us, COVID-19 has complicated the already-challenging process of caring for aging parents and other loved ones. Shelter in place and physical distancing recommendations have introduced new obstacles, even as the current reality has accelerated infirmity amongst the elderly. While we’re not qualified to address the vast scope of these issues, a recent conversation with fellow music professional Kevin King reminded us of the scientifically proven healing qualities of music. Four years ago, his mother was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia (the same type Robin Williams had) and music is “the one thing that has kept them connected.”

We know that Kevin’s experience is not unique. For those who are also grappling with how to support loved ones with dementia or related health challenges, we’re sharing resources for tapping into music’s therapeutic benefits. First, it’s helpful to understand some of the major health-related findings about music and the brain:

• A 2008 University of Helsinki study demonstrated that music enhances alertness and directly stimulates damaged areas of the brain after a stroke. Verbal memory and focused attention recovered significantly better in patients that listened to music, and they also had a more positive mood.
• According to a 40-year retrospective of related research, music can deliver long-term physiological results, rewiring our brains in a process known as neuroplasticity. Neuroscientists offer the following shorthand for this re-wiring phenomenon: “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”
• Alzheimers.net described that by pairing music with everyday activities, Alzheimer’s patients can develop a rhythm which helps them recall the memory of that activity, improving cognitive ability over time.