Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) is a music streaming service headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.   Established in 2006, the company operates under a freemium business model, meaning revenue is generated through premium subscribers and advertisements.  While Spotify remains one of the most popular options globally, the competition may be making some headway.

Spotify is incredibly popular among its subscribers.  Boasting a loyal fan-base, with a reported 130 million monthly active paid subscribers.  The organization has persevered through a number of lawsuits, while operating with an extremely high overhead.  Successful licensing negotiations with 4 major record labels ( Sony, Universal, Warner, and Merlin) have allowed them to become one of the most well-known music streaming services in the world.   

The application has built a name for providing abundant streaming options, relevant recommendations, and a sophisticated user interface.  While there is an ad supported free version for users, Spotify generates the bunk of its revenue from premium subscribers. 

Another primary responsibility of the organization is to maintain a positive relationship with the record labels.  Spotify does not own the content, they have a licensing agreement which allows them to stream the content.  Therefore, in many ways, they are at the whim of the labels. If you can keep users listening, then you generate revenue for the labels, as well as the artists themselves.

Currently, there are 20 US states and numerous countries that require hands-free operation of cellular devices while driving.  However, an overwhelming amount of incidents continue to occur from distractions caused by cellular devices. Regardless of the rules and regulations, people will continue to use cellular devices while driving.

Song View vs. Car View

Task Analysis

The user below is quite familiar with Spotify.  She listens to Spotify occasionally while driving.  The device is linked to the cars bluetooth and the car view mode is on.  She was instructed to drive safely, while making intermittent changes to her songs and playlists.

Did you notice anything?  The car view screen never showed up. Even after she selected a new song from her playlist.  Why does the driver have to click into the car view screen when driving?  Also, the screen keeps shutting off which causes more touches to complete a simple task.  More interaction is not only dangerous, it is frustrating for the user.

Car view needs to bring itself to the forefront.  Meaning, once you connect to your vehicles bluetooth, you should immediately be in car view mode.  Anytime a song is selected or there hasn’t been any recent interaction, the screen should show car view.  The user should have to forcefully click out of car view mode, as opposed to clicking in to it.

The mode only works once the device recognizes that it is connected to a vehicles bluetooth.  It does not recognize my vehicles bluetooth as a car, so car view isn’t even an option.  Please see the picture below, in the bottom left hand corner you will see that my roadtripper bluetooth is connected (which is my vehicles bluetooth).  However, car view is nowhere to be found.  At the moment, the mode is quite difficult to actually use.

A potential solution, the car view mode should have a button just below the bluetooth connection.  If the bluetooth is not recognized as a car, then the user can easily turn the mode on/off.  Then the screen should remain viewable until the user clicks out of the screen.  When a song is selected or they do not interact for a short period of time, the car view screen will show automatically.

Now that the car view screen is visible,  let’s utilize the space in a way that is effective for everyone.  We have already discussed how too much interaction causes user frustration, as well as safety issues.  While the main focus of car view mode should be safety, we cannot forget about Spotify’s relationships with the artists, record labels, and premium subscribers.  As mentioned previously, they are at the whim of the labels (they license the content) while premium subscriptions generate the majority of their revenue.

Song View vs. Car View

While the buttons are larger, there is still some wasted space.  Half of the screen is showing the title of the song.  The space needs to be utilized to give everyone what they want.  So, what is that?

Looking back at the task analysis above, we saw the user repeatedly search for playlists and albums.  These days, the record labels and artists all want more streams, as it directly correlates to more revenue.  The majority of artists streams come from having their songs on popular playlists.

Spotify’s top playlists have around 26 million followers.  Artists, whom are added to these top playlists, have seen increases in streaming revenue anywhere from $116,000-$163,000 per artist.  Over 60% of Spotify’s monthly content hours are spent in playlists.  In short, everyone wants them, so let’s utilize the extra space and get them into car view.

The queue is a great feature that allows premium users to set their own lineups.   In the task analysis below, the user was instructed to add a few songs to her queue, then view the queue.

Task Analysis

Note :39

As discussed before, attracting and retaining premium subscribers is absolutely imperative to the success of the business.  Features such as these need to be showcased to the user, this way they continue to subscribe.  The current state of the queue has the user asking, “Where is it?”.

Current User Flow to Add to the Queue

New User Flow to Add to the Queue

Add to Queue Wireframe

That subtle user flow redesign promotes use of the queue with ease. It also creates less uncertainty for the user.  The goal is to provide a premium feature while allowing the user to browse.  In doing so, this should generate more streams and a happier subscriber. 

Song View Redesign

Song View Wireframe

Axure Prototype

Spotify is continuously making adjustments to meet the demands of the current market.  Fostering strong relationships with the artists and record labels is paramount to maintaining their vast content.  Nevertheless, the usability and premium features offered generate the revenue. The balance isn’t easy, but it is necessary.