When we were assigned the community-oriented music platform Soundspot, I was eager to learn more about the music streaming sphere. Yet, it was difficult for me understand how music streaming companies made profit, as well as how they differentiate themselves. Researching the revenue models of music streaming platforms, considering their conversion rates, subscription tiers, and more gave me perspective on the realm of music streaming. We decided to focus in on the community aspect of music interactions in order to serve a niche that is not explored via similar music streaming platforms.
As I am personally not someone who is a huge fan of certain music artists or follows bands closely, it was challenging to align myself with the perspective of music fanatics who would benefit the most from our platform’s features. Through potential user interviews, I focused on empathizing with the people I was speaking to and understanding why they would or would not want to engage with our community features, such as virtual concerts, and what doubts they held. For example, some people I spoke with pointed out that concert environments cannot be well replicated, such as the vibration one feels at a concert when the music is much louder in person. Understanding what they seek out in the music sphere, such as getting to know people with similar music tastes, was vital. I truly appreciated being able to speak with people and get a glimpse into their perspective before jumping into our platform creation.
Being able to work with a team that not only has a strong grasp on the music sphere and niche groups that our platform could cater to, but also is actively curious about what we can do to tailor our product to the users who would benefit from it the most, was transformative! The openness and respect for new ideas in our group allowed us to explore all avenues of feature creation, which has led to our final presentation that I am so excited about!
