Soundcloud
I designed a Collaborative Playlist feature where users can create a playlist with other users.
Problem:
It seems that more and more people are moving on to different music platforms to stream and upload their music. While users on Soundcloud could follow each other and share tracks individually, there was no way to collaborate together. I would like to understand why people choose the platforms that they do and see if Soundcloud is able to compete and potentially draw new users in to stay and provide a better user experience.
Solution:
The collab playlist feature enables users to create playlists collaboratively with their friends. This can be seamlessly integrated into the SoundCloud platform while offering intuitive functionality.
Research
The aim of this project was to explore the implementation of a collaborative playlist feature, with a focus on the enhancing the user experience for both new and existing users. By looking into competitors, exploring different design options and gaining feedback from users through usability testing and interviews, I was able to identify the most effective way to integrate this feature into the existing Soundcloud product.
Goals
User: Connect with like minded users, personalize listening experience
Business: Increase user engagement and session length
Product: Optimize user experience
Competitor Analysis
When analyzing competitors like Spotify and Bandcamp, it was evident that collaborative playlist features are prevalent among the leading music streaming and discovery platforms. While each competitor has its strengths and weaknesses, Soundcloud can leverage its focus on independent artists, creating more user engagement and offering features that can differentiate itself from competition.
User Interviews
There were 5 interviews conducted, 1 artist and 4 casual/new listeners, all through Zoom meetings. The artist had used SoundCloud extensively before moving to another platform to release his music. The rest have heard of SoundCloud but have rarely interacted with it. A common point observed was that they each use their specific streaming platform for a few hours each day and all maintain multiple playlists on it. They expressed that the only reason they would consider switching platforms would be if there was something better, cheaper, and offered a more customizable experience.
Define
In order to provide a better user experience, collaborative playlists can help users get introduced to new artists, genres and tracks they might not have been able to find on their own. This not only enriches the listening experience but can also encourage exploration and engagement with a diverse range of music. These playlists can play a significant role in creating a community that can bring new users in as well as keep users coming back.
User Personas
Since Soundcloud is mostly made up of underground/independent artists, I decided to create a persona based off that, as well as someone who only uses Soundcloud casually.
Feature Roadmap
The features that I decided to focus on were heavily focused on the collaboration playlist as well as the search function for certain songs/artists. Having the ability for each user to have their desired song played next can ensure a balanced and inclusive listening experience, where everyone can have the opportunity to contribute to the playlist in real time.
User Flow
Since there are many common names for users, artists and song titles, it can be hard to sift through all the information in order for the user to get to where they want to be. Adding a filter option where the user can manually select the information they see will be helpful in guiding them find the correct artist/song quicker.
Design
For the low fidelity wireframes, it was necessary for this addition to be able to fit into the current design. There were two options where this feature could have gone, the first being the initial screen where the user would go to hit the “Add to Playlist” button or the screen where the user would go to create a new playlist.
High Fidelity Wireframes
In order to figure out which flow has the more effective impact, I decided to interview 5 participants who had never used Soundcloud before. The two task flows created were:
Collaborate with Friends will be shown after the Add To Playlist screen
Collaborate on a playlist will be shown as an option in the Ellipsis Menu
Test Results
From the results of the A/B testing, the users preferred the second option because of how noticeable the action was to do in the beginning. This also had a 100% completion and direct success rate.
Final Screens
Conclusion
Next Steps
I designed the collaborative playlist flow that could potentially bring back more user engagement to Soundcloud. A step further would be including features like vocal isolation, lyrics or artist information which can help the users feel more connected with the artist they are listening to.
Reflections
Although my user needs/goals were not met since I was planning on adding a feature useful for both artists and casual listeners, this project made me think about the realistic side of what I could add on. In the beginning of the project, I had hoped to create a feature that would help artists, but as I got farther into it, I had to change my scope to focus more on the listener side.