More Beats, Please

"This isn't [Richard Simmons's] 'Sweatin' to the Oldies,' " says Techno Sweat CEO Rick L. Frimmer, whose Carlsbad company sells music downloads and CDs remixed at various BPM (beats per minute); the music is designed to assist athletes in training.

"Most of our songs are available at five different speeds, geared for different types of workouts, like aerobic, cardio, [and] treadmill training." Continuous-play music programmed at speeds from 128 BPM to 155 BPM cost from $5.99 to $8.99; a 30-minute sample download costs $5.99.

The music comes from four sources: Techno Sweat originals by Israeli composer/performer Silicon Monk, licensed music from established artists (Metallica, Tears for Fears, Gnarls Barkley, others), songs submitted by performers for remixing, and prerecorded music submitted by athletes who want to reprogram BPM in their favorite workout songs.

Frimmer says no licensing permission is necessary to alter prerecorded music submitted by athletes who want their favorite songs sped up or slowed down.

"Those [CDs and downloads] are custom recorded for the customer.... We don't run multiple copies of their workout set list and sell them to other people, so we don't need [to arrange licensing with] the original performers."

Providing music for athletes is a growing industry. Nike sells running shoes with a music transmitter and is working with Apple on a workout chart designed for iPods. Oakley sunglasses offers a sports model with a built-in MP3 player. Swim goggles by Finis can be purchased with an underwater MP3 player.