Generating business growth & conversion with unique media features for a better music experience
Artune needed premium features that felt worth paying for, without making free users feel like they were being left behind.
ProblemA need for growth, expansion, and evolution.
A startup company launched a media product 2 years ago that provided free music streaming to its user base. However, the company is seeing stagnant growth amongst its current users due to minimal change in its user attraction for their products and services.
Enhance the startup company's brand image and revenue with a monthly subscription fee that would attract new consumers while retaining current ones.
SolutionArtune provides an opportunity for users to experience music a bit differently.
Features a selection of premium plans that consumers can try for 1 month free without cancellation fees, giving users an incentive to try premium services risk free for better customer satisfaction and retention.
Features various functions to make consumers’ music experience comfortable and interactive by including friends and family, highlighting the brand’s unique proposition while generating revenue with premium services.
Features an easy onboarding sign-in process and friend-visibility personalization control from the profile page, giving users a greater sense of user control and customization for a better user experience.
Music isn’t just something you listen to. It’s something you experience.
Heuristic AnalysisTo learn more about the industry trends, I conducted a quick heuristic analysis with the issues of the company and allotted time in mind. My aim: observe which features and properties industry leaders succeed or lack in so that I can draw inspiration based on what I see. So, I analyzed the use and features of 3 different music streaming platforms as shown below:
Spotify & Pandora:
Both industry leaders have more organized interfaces that made app navigation easier and more intuitive for users. From these two, there were unique traits that were influential to my plans for Artune, including:
- Clear, well-defined features list for free plan vs. premium plans
- Dark-color mode to stimulate an enigmatic sense of discovery
- 1 month trial version to entice users to try premium services while ensuring them that they can cancel anytime
User SurveysTo understand what media consumers feel about their subscriptions, I then conducted user surveys with 12 participants asking both quantitative and qualitative questions to learn about their experiences and frustrations with various subscriptions. Some questions included:
- "Around how much do you pay for your subscription plans per month?"
- "What factors/reasons/circumstances made you want to subscribe to these services?"
- "Are there any subscription plans that you've cancelled or thought about cancelling?"
- "Did you re-subscribe to any plans after you've cancelled them? If yes, what factors/reasons made you want to re-subscribe?"
While I expected answers to focus mainly on financial situations, I also found some unexpected insights:
Users highly value convenience (8 out of 12 votes), variety (6 out of 12 votes), and cost (3 out of 12 votes) of their subscription plans.
6 out of 12 participants cancelled subscription plans due to rising prices and lack of media available.
9 out of 12 participants do not re-subscribe after cancelling their subscription.
Hulu- I didn't think it was worth it; there's not many shows that I would watch on here.
Netflix - consistent cancellation of popular original shows, raising prices paired with new household member limit.
Affinity & Empathy MappingSeeing and defining user needs.
Based on the research done so far, I’ve gathered the following:
- Users assess how convenient a service is by its simplicity, shareability, and impact
- Users value both the amount of different products available & products that can keep them interested
- Users balance the worth & affordability of the subscription plan before deciding to cancel
With this, I wanted to focus on what a potential customer would want to experience with this product. To capture this thought and bring more life into it, I created affinity and empathy maps to guide my design decisions.
Design Thinking & IdeationIntroducing the karaoke feature with personal friends.
To upgrade users' music experience, I came up with the idea for a karaoke feature, allowing users to record their musical moments and send it to their selected friends. The goal: a personalized experience that boosts enjoyment, engagement, and interactivity without hindering music discovery.
Along with the karaoke feature, I also kept the following themes in mind when envisioning Artune as a music subscription mobile app:
Categorical catalog of different audios:
Creating a system that helps users organize the specific audio product they want to listen to.
Simple & intuitive features:
Keeping features of the app simple and intuitive is a key trait for the user experience for listeners.
Reasonable subscription pricing:
Maintaining a fair fee that users feel comfortable paying.
Increase shareability:
Allowing users to expand and interact with others allows for better user satisfaction.
User Flow MapDesigning for discovery and sharing.
To bring the karaoke feature to life, I mapped out user flows with inspiration from industry leaders like Spotify and Pandora to visualize how users interact with the app from start to finish. Some key actions in the flow are:
- Account sign-in/registration
- Onboarding process
- Music discovery & playing
- Music library & personalization
Wireframing & Guerrilla TestingTurning ideas into a reality.
Following the user flow map, I created mid-fidelity wireframes to visualize the app layout while being mindful of the limited time I had. I applied commonly existing design elements from industry leaders while focusing on the key features of this app.
I then conducted a round of guerrilla testing to receive initial feedback on what users liked about the designs and which aspects needed improvement. From this, I noticed that:
- Certain icons were slightly confusing as they were not intuitive enough for users to know
- Irrelevant information caused greater confusion and friction points for users
Branding & UI ElementsHarmonizing what users hear with what they see.
When creating the name for the app, I chose Artune because of its similarity to the word “attuned,” which symbolizes harmony, and how it also sounds like “our tune,” which can be interpreted to promote shareability and connection with others.
As for the logo, I wanted to utilize a musical symbol in a creative manner so that users can easily recognize the purpose of the app in an interesting way, thus the choice to use the joined 8th note as part of the app logo.
Usability Testing & Iterations“Very straight-forward, nice, and interactive.”
With a high-fidelity prototype of Artune, I conducted usability testing with 5 music media consumers to validate whether this new premium feature met their needs as a paying consumer. Participants were asked to complete several tasks (i.e. signing in, searching for a track, exploring premium features, and accessing user library and profile).
From this second round of testing, I discovered that:
- Users noticed content inconsistencies when reviewing subscription plans during the onboarding process
- Some UI & layout elements required slight modifications in certain areas for optimal presentation
All 5 participants completed the tasks with relative ease and praised the branding and interactions of the prototype. Taking what I learned from this round of testing, I made some iterations:
1Free vs. premium plans.
3 out of 5 participants felt slightly misled about the premium services being for free, especially when they did not take the time to read through the page.
1Removing confusion from the start.
Removing “for free” at the beginning gives users easy access to scan & understand the purpose of the page.
2Refining the message.
Replacing “only $11.99 a month” to “up to $11.99 a month” better reflects the respective premium plan that the user might choose.
3Making better decisions.
Including 2 features for the free plan on the chart allows users a better sense of what is being offered to them.
1A tight squeeze for content.
2 out of 5 participants mentioned how the layout of the playlist on the library page looked cramped. This layout is also shown on other screens like the home page.
1Less means more.
Changing the amount of playlists/tracks displayed from 4 to 3 in a row increases spacing between them for usrs to accurately press on their selection with their fingers.
1Revisiting the premium plans page.
1 out of 5 participants shared concerns about how potential customers might interpret the page differently, such as:
- “Do we choose just one plan for the free trial?”
- “Can we try each premium plan for the free trial?”
- “Can customers pay with something other than credit card?”
1Pick a card, any card.
Including the PayPal card logo among the other credit card logos allows users to recognize other payment options available.
2Giving a bit of direction.
Adding an extra instructional line clarifies to users that they can only choose one of the premium plans for the free month trial. For further emphasis, the same message is included in the paragraph for users to read through.
PrototypeResultsThe karaoke feature scored a 10/10, showing high levels of interest and user satisfaction.
The karaoke feature for Artune received a 10/10 satisfaction score from participants, with users appreciating the interactive and engaging aspects of the app, stating that they enhanced their overall app experience. Ultimately, users felt a greater interest and sense of worth from the provided services that they are supposedly paying for.
“I love how easy the app is to use, and it has a lot of good icons… I think it’s pretty cute and cool, it makes me feel like paying $7.99 is kind of worth it.”
- Usability Test Participant 5
Final Thoughts & TakeawaysA taste of working with constraints and business goals.
Creating Artune was quite challenging since I had to think outside of the box and consider unique features that haven’t been done with existing apps and address user needs or frustrations. It is nice to hear that participants say they would realistically use Artune in some capacity.
Working within various constraints such as deadlines, balancing business goals with user needs, and making strategic decisions was invaluable in this project. For future projects, I hope to be more mindful of which features that clients and stakeholders are asking for would fit users’ needs and wants.
Next Steps for Future ProjectsMore time, more updates.
1 usability participant questioned the possibility of choosing specific singing parts of a song when using the karaoke version with friends. Considering how preferable this could be for most users, I would explore this feature in future versions of Artune with further rounds of usability testing.
Since the existing customer base of the app may be sensitive to the introduction of premium services and new features, I would consider using more iterative design practices like A/B testing to receive constant user input and refine usability for user needs.