Spotify has been making a lot of changes lately in order to stay current amidst a flow of new streaming contenders. The company has already added video to its features while striking partnerships with major networks, and promising to create additional original content.

But none of that may interest you if you aren’t into streaming videos, and you just want a better overall Spotify experience. What might interest you is what Spotify has done when it comes to running with the streaming service.

A New Tempo

If you’ve ever tried to run to a song list while listening to Spotify on your phone, you’ll understand what’s frustrating about it. No matter what list you load, there are always going to be those songs that aren’t fast or slow enough to help you keep up your pace. Spotify is trying to fix this issue with a new feature that’s specifically geared towards runners.

Using the sensors on your phone, the app will now detect your pace when running. If you want a song to pick up or slow down during your run, all you have to do is tap on the running man icon. Once you tap the icon, the songs that you are listening to will coincide with your running pace making for a smoother and happier run.

Running Focus

Spotify has determined that a lot of its users are runners, and runners want music that matches their pace. So in addition to finding and choosing songs for you that match your pace, the company is also working with musicians to create specific music for runners. Working directly with specific musicians to create running music may appeal to more runners that use the app or are curious about what Spotify has to offer.

How did Spotify test the new running feature? The company actually sent its development team on numerous runs in order to test out the running option. The team then reported back to the company with ideas on how to make running music better. The songs that are being developed specifically for Spotify by various artists will adjust mid-song to work with running tempos were created based on the development team’s observations.

Exciting Integration

If you are a runner, you probably use RunKeeper. If that’s the case, you’ll be thrilled to know that Spotify has teamed up with both RunKeeper and Nike to integrate Spotify with these two apps in the very near future. So, you may be able to use RunKeeper and play your Spotify running tunes through the same app at the same time - ultimately, this makes running a lot simpler to do when attached to a phone.

Spotify doesn’t have to just keep up with new streaming companies either. There are exercise bands to consider as well. If Spotify can create a good running app through its streaming app, runners may not care about exercise bands as much (and you still have to use your phone with most of those bands anyway). If you use Spotify, you can check out these new running features rolling out in the next few weeks.