This article was originally published on Vulcan Post.
Forget Colour Run and Electric Run, the fun run to watch has come to Singapore. The Music Run, which was first launched in several cities in Asia, is finally here to rock your eardrums.
The 5km non-competitive fun run will be held in Sentosa on the 11th of April. It looks like it will be the first fun run of the year, and will set the bar pretty high.
“With the resounding success of The Music Run in the cities we have been to, we are proud to be bringing it to Singapore for the first time,” says Ben Pember, the Executive Director of Exceed Sports & Entertainment, the official organizer of The Music Run. “Music and running have always gone hand in hand in a way that allows fitness buffs and casual runners alike to enjoy running to the rhythm of the beat.”
“With The Music Run, we are excited to build a community of Music Runners whom we put at the heart of the experience by inviting them to decide the songs they want to listen to during the run.”
Spotify Wants You To Be The DJ
Obviously, people will be expecting great music from the Music run, so it makes sense that Spotify, one of the world’s most popular music streaming service, will be powering the run as their Official Digital Music Partner.
“We know that in Singapore, for example, our fans listen to 100 minutes of music every single day, and we know that running is a huge area where people listen to the music. We know that (an active and healthy lifestyle) is a huge part of it.” said Akihiro Takahashi, Head of Consumer Marketing in Spotify Asia to Vulcan Post at the launch of The Music Run Singapore.
“When The Music Run came to us, they didn’t think of us as a music streaming service itself but as a platform. So they said: instead of just have event organizers pushing out music, why not use the wealth of knowledge Spotify has as a music service in order to know what people are listening to, and using that data to provide the best music experience possible?”
And that’s what Spotify is set out to do, by making us the DJs for the run itself, after all, music is as much an individual choice as well as a societal one, and only we know what kind of music pumps us up for a good workout. Through a widget embedded into the Music Run website, every participant that signs up for the Music Run will get the chance to vote for their favourite music. As the run will be divided into 5 music zones – Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Retro and Dance – and each participant gets to tell The Music Run and Spotify their favourite song from each genre.
The more you listen, share and like, the more likely your favourites will make the top 5 playlists for each Music Zone. That means that it’s quite possible that your favourite music will be pumped out of 100 concert quality speakers at every step. In fact, there’s a possibility that you could make friends with people who love the same music as you, in fact, they’re going to be all around you.
“Through that commonality, people are going to be able to start conversations,” said Takahashi. “When we went to the first race (in Kuala Lumpur), there were people who don’t know each other taking pictures with each other during the race. Again here, we’re starting conversations through the lens of music, and that’s really exciting.”
From Asia And Beyond
Music Run has been making waves in Asia since last year, with sell out events in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Yangon. This year, they are expanding out to conquer the rest of the word with 13 new markets, including several new countires in Asia like Hong Kong and Taiwan, and outside of Asia in Australia, New Zealand and even Europe. In total, Music Run will have 20 events in 18 markets.
Singapore, the first run of the year, is already geared up to be a big event The route of the run will stretch through 3 different beaches at Sentosa, and each of the 5 Music Zones will be powered by different sponsors, such as Coca Cola, Head and Shoulders, and AIA, with secret activities at each zone that will be revealed on the day itself. Live performances will also take place at the end of the run, with Singapore’s best beatboxer Dharni collaborating with up-and-coming singer K-Leah.
In Singapore alone, Music Run reveals that they are expecting 10,000 participants.
Normal tickets will be priced at S$50 for a Standard ticket, and S$75 for a Rockstar entry, and registration will end on the 31st of March 2015.
If the music does its job, this may be the only Fun Run people will feel pumped enough to run through, or perhaps dance through? After all, according to Sammy Wallwork, the Global DJ for the Music Run: “Running and vitality go hand in hand, and music is the next logical step. Music adds to every running moment.”
It’s time to pluck out those earphones and listen to the music.
