![]() A Macquarie Research report in February estimated that fitness technology could eventually generate $300 million annually for the industry. Companies like Peloton and Mirror have accrued millions of subscribers over the past year, but VR fitness apps like Supernatural (as well as predecessors like Beat Saber and Synth Riders) offer an even more immersive experience, allowing users to virtually escape their living rooms during quarantine.Īs such, there’s enormous potential for the music industry in the coming years as new exercise initiatives are created and pathways for licensing are forged. Of course, Milk couldn’t have predicted that Supernatural would launch one month after the coronavirus pandemic forced the widespread need for at-home exercise alternatives in the United States. “There was a lot of sculpting to find the right that worked for us, but also, you can’t just have 10 songs that people play.” “What’s fun about Supernatural is that there’s a new workout every day, and you’re experiencing new music that you haven’t experienced in the app on a daily basis,” says Milk. With an expansive music catalog, the app has leaned into the genre cross-pollination of the streaming era: there are pop, dance and hip-hop hits, but Milk says that one of the most popular routines is ‘Sweat Symphony,’ a classical music workout in which users swing their arms like orchestra conductors. “It feels like you’re essentially playing a sport from the future, but you can do it in the footprint of a yoga mat in your bedroom,” says Milk, who had been talking with the major publishers while first developing Supernatural in 2018, and had multiple deals in place when the app launched last spring. Within started as a media distribution platform before Milk and co-founder Aaron Koblin realized the potential of at-home fitness, leading them to imagine an app that functions like a full-body, calorie-busting Dance Dance Revolution. Chris Milk, co-founder and CEO of Within, is a former music video director with deep industry ties having developed projects for artists like Arcade Fire, Pharrell Williams and U2 in the 2010s. Supernatural was always envisioned as an exercise option with premium music. ![]() With the UMPG deal, they’ll now be able to jam to Post Malone’s “Better Now,” Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” and The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” while doing so. For $20 a month, users have been able to swing at incoming objects with VR bats, and squat to avoid others, at varying levels of tempo and difficulty. Thanks to a mid-February deal with Universal Music Publishing Group, Supernatural has unlocked a treasure trove of popular music to expand in-app programming, motivate subscribers and entice those still curious about VR workouts. Supernatural, the subscription-based VR fitness app launched last April by tech company Within, has allowed users to strap on an Oculus Quest headset from the comfort of their homes and enjoy a choreographed cardio workout to uptempo hits. As gyms across the United States closed or offered limited-capacity workouts over the past year due to ongoing pandemic safety restrictions, some fitness junkies transported themselves to an Icelandic lake or an Ethiopian volcano for a virtual reality workout.
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