Based on our research, we identified the touchpoints of music sharing and discovery as ripe for (re-)invention. The principal pain point we wanted to address was that digital streaming platforms make sharing music feel impersonal—but it’s undeniable that they make discovering music much easier. How can we reconcile this tension?
→ Insight #1
While music is universally valued as something to be shared, the ease with which you can share a link to a song or playlist leads to digital clutter. Spotify, the #1 streaming platform, lacks an in-app share feature, leaving music sent via text/IM/etc easily forgotten. Sharing music digitally doesn’t have the same personal touch as mixtapes or CDs.
→ Insight #2
Streaming platforms make it easier to discover new music, but with so much information overload, recommendations generated by algorithms are given less weight compared to those from family or friends.
→ Insight #3
Physical, tactile music experiences such as putting on a vinyl record, or burning a mix CD for a friend, are still valued for their tangibility and nostalgia factor, but don’t fit in to peoples’ preferred listening habits.