MOBILE APP · ENTERTAINMENT

UX/UI DESIGN · UX RESEARCH

Spotify

Adding a ‘Live Session’ Feature to Spotify

The pandemic has made people feel more isolated than ever, causing people to seek new ways to connect with one another.

 

Adding a live stream feature to Spotify would allow users to connect with others globally, creating a space for connection & discovery of new music.

 

Role

UX Researcher & UI Designer

Client

Concept Project for DesignLab UX Academy

Scope

IOS Application, Visual Design & Branding

Tools

Figma, Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator, Canva

BACKGROUND

Music and Connection

There’s a special connection between humans and music. Perhaps this is due, in part, to the way music evokes our emotions, or maybe it’s about an embodied response. It’s amazing that even with brains that are far from neurotypical, music can still break through human interaction. 

Spotify

Spotify, a leader in streaming music, wants to help make the connection between music and humans further. It already has some core capabilities, like following artists or friends, and a basic feed of activity.

However, there’s much more that can be done. They want to create a feature to expand its social capabilities.

The Challenge

Design a new social feature that’s embedded within the current Spotify platform for an ios device.

 

Our Solution

  • A live streaming feature on Spotify (live sessions), where users can listen to music simultaneously with other users across the globe.

  • The goal is to help the user feel connected with others by being able to listen, react and share music with others within one application.

QUESTION

How might we help users feel connected with others through music?

 

Research: Empathize

 

RESEARCH GOALS

  • 01. Role of Music

    Identify the role music plays in people’s day-to-day lives.

  • 02. Streaming Services

    Identify users’ needs and desires when using a streaming platform.

  • 03. Music Platforms

    Identify how users currently use music streaming platforms

  • 04. Competitors

    Identify and analyze current competitors that connect users with other users

 

MY ASSUMPTIONS

2 main assumptions I had about live streams before research:

  • Live streams are appealing because they connect people at real time to have a shared experience.

  • People are interested in having a live stream feature on Spotify

MARKET RESEARCH

Listening Parties

What exactly is a listening party?

“Listening parties are loosely directed gatherings aimed at discovering new music and discussing about it. Listening parties could also be a special event held to listen to a new release with like-minded friends or would-be fans of the artist.” — (Ehow)

People join listening parties for connection, empowerment, and discovery of new music.

  • 80.6% said they listened to music primarily on their phones;

  • 54.5% said that the two main reasons they’ve participated in listening parties are to discover new music, album releases and to hang out with (new) friends.

 

7 Facts About the Growth of Live Streams *

  1. “Live video grew by 93%, with an average viewing time of 26.4 minutes per session.” (Streaming Media, 2019)

  2. Live videos hold users’ attention 10-20x longer than pre-recorded, on-demand content. (Forrester, 2017)

  3. Of those who watch live streams, 7 out of 10 tunes in to a live stream daily. (Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2018)

  4. The live streaming industry is expected to be valued at $184.27 billion by 2027. (Tech Jury, 2020)

  5. Approximately 34% of Generation Z (1997-2015) have shown a new interest in live streams, especially on social platforms. (GWI Flagship Report 2020)

  6. Professionals anticipate that 82% of internet use will be for streaming video by 2022. (Cisco, 2021)

  7. Professionals also anticipate that 79% of mobile users will be for streaming video by 2022. (Cisco, 2021)

USER INTERVIEWS

Understanding the User’s Mindset

We also conducted preliminary interviews with potential users of the platform.

 

Interview Details

  • 6 participants

  • Interviews via in-person & Zoom

  • Duration: 30 - 45 mins each

 

Participants

  • Adults between the ages 22 - 45

  • Uses a music streaming platform 

  • Bonus: If they have a love for music/sharing music with others

Interview Questions

Music Habits/Demographics

  • Music app do you use & why?

  • Favorite and least favorite feature?

  • When do you listen to music?

  • Music genres/artists

Music in Relation to Others

  • Instances you shared your music

  • Enjoy meeting others with the same taste in music?

  • How might sharing this same experience impact your mood, experience, and love for music?

Live Streaming Experience

  • Waited to listen to an artist’s album the day it came out?

  • Watched a YouTube premiere live? Did you watch it with someone else?

  • Are you interested in listening to music at the same time as others?

I was surprised that there weren’t as many who tune in to live streams, but all participants did agree that listening together enhances the experience/enjoyment. They were also interested in a listening party.

Key Takeaways

  1. All enjoy meeting people who share the same taste in music

  2. Most participants were interested in a listening party room

  3. Most participants said their experience is enhanced when listening/reacting together

COMPETITOR RESEARCH

I wanted to look into existing live streaming platforms to see what they all have in common & what features are important to include in my design. I focused on Twitch, YouTube Live, and JQBX. I also looked into Facebook Live & Instagram Live (although not featured here).

 

Twitch

Twitch.tv is one of the biggest live streaming sites in the world.

It’s bringing in nearly 10 million active users daily, watching for an average of 106 minutes every single day.

 

YouTube Live

Thousands come on every day to listen to "Lo-Fi Girl," an account that plays lo-fi beats 24/7.

Users feel connected over the shared struggle of having to focus while doing work.

 

JQBX

JQBX is an app that uses Spotify to play songs and people create rooms and there is a DJ who controls the playing.

We can listen privately with our friends creating a private room, but they have to install this app and have Spotify Premium.

SUMMARY

Research Findings

As live streaming platforms have been & continue to grow, so has the opportunity & desire to connect with others through music. I believe Spotify has an opportunity to add a live session feature to their app.

Target Audience

  • Those with a love for music and want to connect with others with similar taste

Highest Design Priority

  • A ‘Live Session’ page where users can listen to music simultaneously with others

  • Chat Feature: Users can connect with others during these live sessions via live chatting

  • Having these features in one app (i.e. so the user doesn’t need to go to YouTube)

Define: Designing Priorities

USER PERSONA

Bringing our Target Audience to Life

Sarah, the music advocate, is a fictional character developed from my research findings & analysis.

Some Key Info About Sarah:

  • Wants to connect with others through music

  • Listening together is “like handing someone the aux chord. It’s like being in the car together”

  • Wants to discover new music easily

Ideate: Information Architecture

APP MAP

The screens written in green are the new additional screens for anything related to the Live Sessions Feature.

TASK FLOW

 

USER FLOW

1. There are 2 ways users could find the Chill Study Beats Live session: through a specific search or through general browsing.

2. This is main way a user can send a message in chat.

3. The user can add the song, Summer Time, to an existing or a new playlist

4. This is the step process a user would take to share the live stream’s link with a friend via SMS.

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes

I started off with higher mid-fidelity wireframes. The live section design was inspired by YouTube Livestreams and Twitch.tv.

This required making sure there was a chat section while listening to music (instead of a video), while also making it look similar to Spotify.

 Branding & Visual Design

Most of this UI Kit was from Spotify’s Branding kit.

It was challenging to get the navigation & headings to look as if it was actually part of Spotify.

High-Fidelity Wireframes

Few changes from the Mid-Fidelity Wireframes:

  • Removed the grey text bubble for a cleaner, simplified look.

  • Added a green progress bar for the song playing

  • When you minimize the live chat, suggested live stream channels appear

 Testing the Effectiveness of The Design

USABILITY TESTING

Overview

Test Subject

High-fidelity prototype of Spotify’s Mobile Application 

Test Methodology

Usability tests via in-person, Zoom, and Figma

Participants:

  • 4 participants 

  • Ages 22-55 years old

  • Gender: Female and Male

Recruiting Plan

  • Users who are familiar with Spotify

  • Enjoy listening and sharing their music with others

Test Objectives

  1. Observe if users quickly navigate through the app

  2. Observe how easily users can accomplish given tasks

  3. Observe how users interact with the new feature (Live sessions) and if it seems part of Spotify

USABILITY TESTING FEEDBACK

Analysis & Findings

  • 4 of 4 successfully completed the 3 tasks quickly

  • 4 of 4 understood Live session’s purpose & functions

  • 4 of 4 understood that their personal username was in ‘green’ in chat

  • 4 of 4 felt its look and design was like Spotify

  • 3 of 4 would see themselves using this feature

  • 3 of 4 said it was easy to navigate because it is similar to Youtube/Youtube Live.

Pain Points

  • 4 of 4 clicking on the picture to pause is not intuitive, used to it being below the album cover.

  • 4 of 4 wasn’t sure what the ‘recently played’ icon was 

  • 3 of 4 asked about the forward/skip button, wasn’t sure what it would do in a live session 

  • 3 of 4 confused from search (in live sessions) which one is LIVE, assumed it would all be live

  • 3 of 4 thought the ‘friend’s checkmark’ was indicating a verified user (like Twitter & Instagram)

Iterations

Final Summary

How might we help users feel connected with others through music?

  • From our research and usability findings, live streaming is a great way to connect with others through music. I believe Spotify has an opportunity to add a live session feature to their app.

  • Listening together is “like being in the car together & handing someone the aux chord”

  • Having a live streaming option would allow users to discover new music.

Next Steps

Since this project was completed, Spotify actually created a listening party room feature for you & your friends to listen to the same songs simultaneously. Although this is a step closer, the listening party is still limited to current friends.

However, our live session feature wouldn’t be limited to immediate friends, but to anyone across the world.


Live streaming creates other possibilities for Spotify:

User Curated Live Stations

  • Instead of the music station being ‘DJ-ed’ by Spotify only, people were interested in having the live sessions be hosted by other users, with the ability to request songs.

Live Podcasts Sessions

  • One direction users anticipated was live podcasts.

  • Spotify is also largely known for its podcast series & adding a live stream feature could allow for more interactive Q&A time and interaction between the speaker and audience.

Video Live Sessions

  • Live sessions can be an avenue for artists to do live performances/concerts/chats with other users and fans.

There are many ways the live session feature can grow and help connect people with others and would give Spotify a different meaning of being a ‘social platform’ for music.