Helping Spotify Users Find 49.9 Million More Songs They Didn’t Know Existed.
By: Emily Romero
Tags: UX, Spotify, Design

Growing up in NYC, I was always on Spotify listening to music in order to tune out the crying baby on the E train at 7 AM while I was still trying to finish my calculus homework.

I have constantly encountered a wide array of entertainment, from a mariachi band on the 7 train to street performers urging me to participate at Times Square. In both scenarios, I would catch myself googling the lyrics of the songs they were performing to, so that I can add them to my Spotify Playlists.

Listening to music helps me connect to the culture that surrounds me but how am I able to expand my music gallery on my own? Let’s be honest, listening to the same thing — whether that is the genre or artist — can be quite boring, and I am not the only one who thinks this.

People want to continue to build their spectrum of music so they not constantly listening to the same thing but they cannot do that well because:

Individuals do not know what others around them are listening to. Individuals are not often given music recommendations from others. Individuals do not have enough time to look for other songs and new artists.

Original Hypothesis

My original hypothesis was: If Spotify’s sharing option was more accessible, users would be more likely to share music to others. Therefore, I set out to discover why users aren’t using the sharing feature already implemented on Spotify.

Spotify’s Current Sharing Feature

User Research

I interviewed Spotify users from the ages of 17– 45 to identify pain points within the music discovery process and learn how to aid the process. Here are some of my key insights:

Users tend to want to listen to the same music due to accessibility on the Spotify Home Page.

“I usually click and listen to songs that are on my “Recently Played” because I know I will enjoy it since I have listened to it before”

2. Users rather send photos of songs to friends rather than use the implemented sharing link feature.

“Wait, there is a sharing feature on Spotify? I usually just screenshot the song and text it to my friend”

3. Users usually use word of mouth in order to put friends on to new music.

“ When I’m in the car with friends, I just ask the person who is playing the music what song we are listening to”

4. Users like to be validated that their music taste is good and that others enjoy it as well.

People Want to Share Music With Their Friends.

After gathering insights, I concluded that: People want to be able to share music with others, but they want to be able to do it quick and effectively. My hypothesis was correct, but it is not only about accessibility but the efficiency of the current Share Feature.

Brainstorm Session

I recruited two of my friends, Melanie Almanza and Oluwatise Alatise, as my brainstorm buddies. I conducted a brainstorming session to determine ways to conquer my people problem.

Virtual Brainstorming with Friends

After exploring, we decided on an opportunity.

Spotify In-App Recommendation DMs: How might we enhance the community on Spotify? How might we encourage users to recommend music to each other?

Market Research: How other products help users share music

Market Research: Shazam & Instagram Stories

Shazam lets users find music just by having your phone listen to it. But, areas that are not being tackled by this solution is that Shazam is tailored to Apple Music . This puts Spotify users at a disadvantage. Instagram may allow users to display songs on their stories but users are having to go back and forth between apps making sure they spell the songs name right. There are opportunities in improvement by suggesting which music application you have so it can redirect you there, rather than having to do the most yourself.

Determining UI Elements for DMs

Applying my analysis from market research, I decided which elements would be important in order to send songs to friends.

Content Requirements

After juggling which elements would be most useful for the users, I decided on these important elements. I decided to only include the name, profile picture and username. These elements would help distinguish to whom you are sending it to.

Explorations for Messaging Entry Point

Explorations for Messaging Entry Point

Initially, I pursued Option B out of my four explorations. I felt as if the pop-up feature in the app would be a quicker way to access your messages. But after critique and feedback, I concluded that this could be “annoying” for users as they are navigating through the app. Users enjoyed the idea of having it on another screen instead, therefore I chose Option D.

Interacting with the Messages Icon: Why There?

Explorations for Notification Icon Placement

I wanted to make the messaging icon as accessible as I can for users. Spotify has three icons in the bottom bar in order to navigate throughout the application. So, adding the messaging icon there would be a similar interaction users already do. Therefore I chose to have the icon on the bottom right, closest to the thumbs.

I also decided to add the green dot on the messaging icon. This green dot signals the user that they have received a new message, rather than just having a pop up every time you get a new message.

But Wait, There is More.

High Fidelity Explorations for Choosing a Song and Friends

The messaging icon only covers one aspect of this feature. We know how to indicate whether someone sent you a new song, but how would you send one? I chose to add the Recommend to option within the options on how to interact with the song. When deciding how I wanted users to choose whom they wanted to recommend the song to, I chose Option B. After some feedback, I realized that this would limit the number of interaction you can have at a time.

Song Icon Look familiar? It is.

Spotify’s Old DM System

If you have been on Spotify long enough, you might remember this. Spotify actually had a DM system back in 2017 but it had been discontinued due to very low engagement. Okay so why now?

Spotify has now over two times more users than they did in 2017, and most of them are using their mobile devices. The old DM system had been solely for desktop use, and now most users usually listen to music on their mobile devices. I decided to bring back the old Song Icon that was used in the previous years to indicate that a song was sent.

Time to Be Quicker.

After the user selects the song they want to send to a friend, there must be some sort of confirmation. Option A draws inspiration from the pop up notification a user gets when a song is added to their Liked Songs. I decided to add a view option, in case users wanted to see their messages after it was sent. On the other hand, Option B takes one step further and takes the user the messaging screen for that specific person.

High Fidelity Explorations for Confirmation

When I tested both explorations, all the users liked Option A better than Option B. One of them stated:

“It leads me back to the song I was listening to which is very convenient, I do not want to navigate all the way back there after sending a message.”

Encouraging Users to Keep Sharing

During my user research and testing, I discovered that users always enjoyed to see the reaction of friends when they send a song to them. I asked: “How does it feel when someone likes a song you recommend to them?”, each one of them replied with happiness.

Explorations on Liking Songs

With that in mind, I wanted to be able to distinguish whether or not a user enjoyed the song recommended. I implemented the heart button as an indicator. But during my critique group, other designers brought up that my original idea (Option A) may be confusing for users.

In order to make liking accessible to all users, I decided to go with Option B, because it would be easier for the user to interact with the heart icon without accidentally playing the song.

Keeping Interactions Familiar To Users

Visual Design — Distinguishing Read Messages

Inboxes should always be clear and easy to read. As I was deciding on how to distinguish my read and unread messages, I drew inspiration from how other applications executed the similar feature. Bolding had been a common pattern I saw throughout Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms. Because of this, I decided to go with Option A.1 and B.1.

Explorations on New and Old Messages

Visual Design — Liked Songs Notification

Added to Liked Song Feature

Apple’s recent update included a similar slide up notification that appears when a voice audio is saved. It tells the user what was saved and who saved it, I thought this would be an amazing opportunity I could embedded in my feature. The faint text would be a strong indicator to alert the user that a song was saved by the other person, giving them that serotonin they enjoy.

Final Interaction for Recommendation DM System

Final Flows for Sending Songs to Friends

Final Flow for Receiving Music

The final interaction of the feature includes two different ways users can send a song to another user. I demonstrated how one can choose a song manually from their library and as well the song they are currently listening to. Users can quickly send the songs the multiple users at once and enter the chat if needed. I showcased how to open a new message and the process of liking the song.