Wellness
Empowering women’s health with music
By Con Raso, managing director, Tuned Global
Music and movement are neurologically intertwined. Tempo influences pace, rhythm supports endurance, and familiar tracks can reduce perceived exertion.
Beyond physiology, music creates shared moments. It sets the atmosphere, builds anticipation and turns individual activity into collective experience.
For sports, wellness and fitness brands, this means music selection needs to align with brand values, customer experiences and emotional outcomes.
Well-chosen music increases workout intensity and duration, improves customer retention, strengthens brand recognition, creates community and cultural relevance, and opens new partnership models.
When delivered through properly licensed, data-informed systems, these outcomes become measurable and scalable.
Music also gives brands a way to stay culturally connected to their audience. The question for operators is how to use music strategically and legally.
This is especially important because the way brands approach music has changed significantly.
Early adoption in wellness, fitness and leisure centres often meant plugging in a Spotify playlist and hoping for the best.
Today’s leading sports and fitness innovators are far more sophisticated, curating music experiences that are brand-led, data-informed, tailored to specific audiences and workouts and fully licensed for commercial use.
This shift is being powered by specialist music technology platforms like Tuned Global, which works behind the scenes with brands to manage licensing, catalogue access, analytics and distribution at scale.
Rather than forcing sports brands to become music experts, these platforms allow them to offer legally compliant music in commercial environments, control curation across locations or content formats, and adapt music to different activities and intensities.
Through advanced APIs and centralised cloud infrastructure, operators can manage licensing, catalogue access and music governance at scale, while maintaining full creative control.
They also provide the reporting required by rights holders and integrate music into apps, devices, wearables and connected platforms. The result is music that feels intentional, on-brand and deeply embedded in the experience.
Music in action
Lululemon Studio and Mirror: At-home Fitness and Health
When Lululemon acquired Mirror, it marked a shift towards fully connected, at-home fitness where content, coaching and atmosphere converge.
Music plays a key role in making those workouts feel immersive and motivating, especially without a physical studio or shared space.
Instructors needed access to curated, commercially licensed music delivered consistently across live and on-demand workouts, while remaining compliant with music rights regulations.
Tuned Global provided Lululemon Studio with a branded playlisting app solution that enabled instructors to curate fully licensed music tailored to each workout.
Drawing from a licensed commercial catalogue and supported by usage reporting to rights holders, the system ensured compliance while giving instructors the flexibility to design high-energy, brand-aligned sessions.
The result was a seamless blend of movement, coaching and sound that makes digital workouts feel immersive and premium.
Psycle London: Performance Led Experiences
Con Raso
Boutique fitness studio Psycle London has built a loyal following by transforming workouts into performance-led experiences where music is central to the brand.
Each class is choreographed to sound, with instructors designing sessions that build emotional peaks and sustained intensity.
As Psycle expanded its digital and on-demand offering, it needed a way to give more than 70 instructors access to fully licensed commercial music while protecting the business from legal and reputational risk.
Tuned Global delivered a branded playlisting app that enabled Psycle’s instructors to search a cleared commercial catalogue by artist, genre or BPM, preview full tracks and build tailored playlists for classes ranging from high-intensity rides to strength and conditioning.
Behind the scenes, the music is delivered through secure API infrastructure integrated into Psycle’s own platform, with automated reporting to rights holders and support across label and publishing negotiations.
By combining creative flexibility with licensing governance, Psycle were able to scale its music-led experience across studio and digital environments without compromising on brand integrity, compliance or operational control.
Steezy: Movement and Music
Steezy, one of the world’s leading online dance platforms, sits at the intersection of sport, movement and music.
For dancers, music is not background sound. It defines timing, style and expression.
As Steezy scaled internationally, music became both its greatest asset and its biggest operational challenge. Delivering classes built around commercial tracks created both operational complexity and significant licensing risk.
Tuned Global provided the licensed music catalogue delivery infrastructure that enabled Steezy instructors to search a cleared catalogue, curate playlists tailored to specific classes, and prepare sessions using full commercial tracks.
The system ensured that music used across Steezy’s app and desktop platform was properly licensed and reported to rights holders, supporting global expansion without exposing the business or its creators to legal liability.
By combining instructor-friendly tooling with robust licensing governance, Steezy was able to continue growing its international dance community while keeping music at the centre of the experience.
A wider wellness ecosystem
For wellness, sports, fitness and leisure operators considering deeper music integration, a few principles stand out.
First, treat music as a product feature. It should support the outcome you want, whether that is higher intensity, calm recovery, emotional connection or brand recognition.
Second, get licensing right from day one. Using consumer streaming services in commercial environments exposes brands to legal and reputational risk.
For example, In 2019, more than 20 music publishing groups filed a $150 million copyright lawsuit against Peloton, alleging the company used more than 1000 unlicensed songs in its workout videos.
In another example, just last year the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia ordered a Sydney gym chain owner and five of his companies to pay more than $235,000 in damages and interest after operating multiple locations without a valid OneMusic licence.
Third, give creators freedom while maintaining brand control. Instructors, coaches and athletes bring personality, so give them tools to curate music safely within brand guidelines.
Last but not least, use data to refine the experience.
Track how music impacts engagement, completion rates and retention, because music is measurable. Finally, think cross-platform.
Your music strategy should work across physical venues, mobile apps, connected devices and on-demand content. Consistency builds trust.
What’s ahead for music as a performance tool
Music in wellness will become even more adaptive. As AI, biofeedback and real-time analytics become more embedded in fitness technology, music will increasingly respond dynamically to heart rate, pace or emotional state.
Early implementations in health and performance environments are already demonstrating how adaptive music can optimise outcomes.
As wearable technology and connected fitness continue to evolve, music will play an increasingly central role in shaping personalised experiences.
The infrastructure choices operators make now will determine how easily they can adopt these capabilities later. Those who invest early in licensed, data-informed music systems will be best placed to innovate without risk.
Music is a performance tool, a brand asset and a powerful lever for engagement. The examples above show that this applies at every scale, from a single boutique studio to a global combat sports brand.
The most successful innovators understand that when music and movement align, something special happens. With the right technology and licensing in place, that can scale.
About Con Raso, Managing Director of Tuned Global
Con Raso is an entrepreneur passionate about innovation, new technologies, and start-ups.
Over the last few decades he has focused on creating innovative mobile and online distribution models within the B2C entertainment market, enabling brands to utilise music as a marketing tool, via unique customer engagement strategies.
Being inherently well-versed in both technology and music, Con ensures our solutions are aesthetically pleasing, engaging and disruptive.
About Tuned Global
Tuned Global is the leading data-driven Cloud Music Platform that empowers businesses to integrate commercial music into their apps or launch complete streaming experiences using advanced APIs, real-time analytics, licensing solutions, music intelligence and customisable white-label apps.
Our turnkey solutions for music, audio, and video, coupled with a broad ecosystem of third-party music tech integrations, make us the most comprehensive platform for powering digital music projects.
We streamline complexities in licensing, rights management, content delivery and music discovery, enabling rapid innovation and bringing new ideas to life.
Since 2011, we’ve supported 40+ companies in 70+ countries — across telecom, fitness, media, aviation, and more — to deliver innovative music experiences faster and more cost-effectively.
For more information, visit www.tunedglobal.com.
A new Female Health Hub launched by the English FA will support women and girls in grassroots football in England with trusted advice on health issues affecting play.
The hub brings together expert-backed guidance, practical tools and player insights in one place, giving women and girls practical advice and reassurance on female health in football.
It has four core aims: to help women and girls better understand their bodies and how female health affects performance and participation, to educate players on key health topics and when to seek further advice or support, to provide practical strategies to help navigate common female health challenges, and to help break down taboos and normalise conversations around female health in football.
Users of the hub will also be able to hear directly from members of the England women’s national team, who share their own experiences of navigating female health matters while playing at the highest level of the game.
“Our ambition is to create a game where women and girls can thrive,” said Sue Day, the FA’s director of women’s football.
“To achieve that, it’s essential that players feel supported in environments that understand and respond to their female health needs.
“We’ve heard directly from grassroots players that they want better information and support around female health, but that they often don’t know where to find it.
“The launch of the Female Health Hub marks an important step in changing the landscape.
“We want every player to feel confident in her own skin and supported without judgment, so she can feel empowered by her body, rather than held back by it.”
The platform was launched following research conducted by the FA that highlighted the need for better education and support around female health in football.
According to the FA, 88 per cent of adult players surveyed said their menstrual cycle has an impact on their ability to train or play, but 86 per cent reported they had never received education about the menstrual cycle in relation to football performance and training.
The research also found 64 per cent of women experience issues related to sports bras or breast health while playing football, despite sports bras being considered one of the most important pieces of playing kit.
Players also expressed strong interest in learning more about injury prevention, at 87 per cent, nutrition, at 84 per cent, and mental health, at 77 per cent, in relation to female health.
The first phase of the Female Health Hub focuses on three of the most requested topics: menstrual health, breast health and injury resilience, with further content to follow, including nutrition and pelvic health guidance.
Mariella Frostrup has been appointed the government’s women’s employment ambassador, a new role to support working women across the UK.
The new role comes as the government steps up efforts to support women with menopause symptoms, with businesses being encouraged to publish action plans aimed at tackling the £1.7bn lost each year through sick days, lost productivity and women leaving the workforce because of menopause.
The women’s employment ambassador role expands the remit of the menopause employment ambassador post, which Mariella Frostrup held over the past year.
In that role, she oversaw the launch of the Menopause Advisory Group and discussions with hundreds of employers to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause.
In the expanded role, Frostrup will work closely with employers across the country to raise awareness of key health issues affecting women at work and champion the economic contribution women make.
Experts from across sectors will be brought together to gather evidence, identify barriers and opportunities, and provide informed recommendations on supporting women’s health at work.
Frostrup said: “Menopause support in the workplace has come a long way, and that progress is something to be proud of, but it cannot be where our ambition stops.
“Women’s health affects their working lives long before menopause, and for too long many have been navigating these challenges without the right support around them.
“Every woman deserves to know, at every stage of her career, that her health will not be a barrier to her success.
“I am delighted to take on this role and look forward to working with employers across the country support their imperative female workforce and retain them.”
Many health conditions affect women long before they reach menopause, including endometriosis and fibroids, making it vital that support is available throughout their working lives to stop women dropping out of the workforce for good.
This comes as part of the government’s drive to reverse the rise in the number of women who are economically inactive because of long-term sickness, which has hit a near-record high of 1.48 million.
Large businesses with 250 or more employees are also being encouraged to produce and publish voluntary action plans setting out how they will support employees experiencing menopause symptoms in the workplace.
Companies will be asked to commit to at least one action to support employees experiencing menopause, such as setting up support groups, tailored workplace adjustments including alternative uniforms, and more.
Dame Diana Johnson, minister for employment, said: “Too many women still face barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential in the workplace.
“This new ambassador role sends a clear signal that we are serious about changing that, and Mariella Frostrup is the ideal person to take this on.
“By championing the brilliant contributions women make – as entrepreneurs, workers, and leaders – we can unlock economic growth that benefits everyone.”
The action plans are one part of the Employment Rights Act, which will boost employment and improve job security for more than 18 million workers and will benefit women balancing health, care responsibilities and careers.
Tracy Black, CBI chief commercial officer, said: “Businesses are committed to taking action to help women both stay and succeed in the workplace.”
“Awareness of the impact of menopausal symptoms at work is rising, leading to businesses taking a more pro-active approach to providing support. This is part of a wider trend of firms sharpening their focus on health and wellbeing.”
The women’s health ambassador, alongside the government’s renewal of the women’s health strategy, are working to make faster, more decisive progress on the health outcomes that matter most to women and girls across the country.
These measures, along with the new ambassador role, are intended to ensure employers are better equipped to support women and that women know how to access help throughout their career. Supporting women into work and throughout their career is a key part of the government’s commitment to Get Britain Working.
From spring 2026, employers with 250 or more employees will have the option to produce and publish a voluntary action plan alongside their gender pay gap.
Women with diabetes are less likely to get preventive care than those without the condition, a UCLA-led study suggests.
The findings are based on an analysis of more than 40 studies from several countries.
They highlight how physicians largely overlook the importance of these routine services for women who have diabetes mellitus, or DM, putting them at risk of preventable medical conditions such as pregnancy complications.
Lauren Wisk is associate professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and senior author on the study.
She said: “These findings are important because they identify that women with diabetes are not receiving recommended well-woman care, which is essential to support both managing their diabetes and their overall health.
“Providers need to be aware that they should not forget to provide these essential services for women with diabetes.”
The researchers sifted through thousands of studies, focusing on the concepts of women, diabetes and women’s health services, and settled on 44 that addressed treatment services for women aged 15 to 49 with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, excluding those with diabetes insipidus or gestational diabetes.
They looked at four preventive health service categories: contraceptive counselling and use, breast and cervical cancer screening, pre-conception counselling, and screening for sexually transmitted infections.
One study found that 48 per cent of women with diabetes received contraceptive services compared with 62 per cent of women without the disease.
Nine papers showed cervical cancer screening rates ranging from 38 to 79 per cent for women with diabetes compared with 46 to 86 per cent for those without diabetes.
Four studies found that breast cancer screening rates for women with diabetes ranged between 38 and 69 per cent compared with 54 and 82 per cent for those without diabetes.
Fourteen studies found pre-conception counselling rates of just over 1 per cent compared with 46 per cent for women with diabetes who are planning to get pregnant.
The researchers did not identify any studies on screening for sexually transmitted infections, which they said represents “a substantial gap in the literature.”
The researchers wrote: “One of the more striking findings of this review is the importance of robust coordinated care teams in ensuring access to appropriate services for women with DM.
“Several of the identified studies provide support that a co-management model, or the concept of involving endocrinology, primary care, and other specialty care providers in the care of individuals with DM, as recommended by the American Diabetes Association, is associated with greater receipt of services.”
Within the time constraints of an office visit, primary care physicians are expected to address preventative health needs as well as chronic disease management, said Dr Lisa Kransdorf, an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Geffen School and a study co-author.
She said chronic disease management will often take priority.
“In cases where the patient has other providers such as specialists and clinical pharmacists actively involved in their chronic disease management, there is opportunity for primary care physicians to attend to preventative care gaps,” the researcher added:
There are some limitations to the findings.
The search yielded only 44 studies, many of which relied on patient recall, which can be unreliable, highlighting the need for further research.
In addition, most of the studies analysed had small sample sizes or were conducted at a single site, limiting how applicable the findings might be in other settings.
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