Soundcloud Global Limited & Co.
Music Streaming Design (Apple CarPlay)
Soundcloud is a global leader in music streaming. Recently, they have seen a drop in streams and a decrease in market share. This drop coincides with vehicle manufacturers offering Apple CarPlay and Andriod Auto. Having a compatible app will allow Soundcloud users to stream, like, and browse safely.
User Research
Percentage of Traffic by Country
- United States (28%)
- United Kingdom (6%)
- Germany (4%)
- Russia (4%)
- France (3%)
- Users accessing the platform decreased by more than half from 34.2 million in March 2018 to 15.31 million in September 2019
- In March 2018 Soundcloud only trailed Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora in total users. But, by September 2019 were also surpassed by iHeartRadio, Google Play Music, and Amazon Music.
- Can’t choose music while driving safely – only function available are next or previous of current playlist
- Users can’t like/save music if they hear a song and want to save it for later
- Users can’t fast forward in a song – this can be important in long form content (ex. dj sets, radio shows)
Competitive & Comparative Analysis
- Soundcloud has over 200 million songs compared to just 35 million for Spotify and 45 million for Apple Music
- Soundcloud has more edits, mashups, remixes, and DJ mixes – although many of theses songs can get taken down anytime due to copyright infringement
- In 2018, paying subscribers for Spotify hit 87 million, 20+ million for Amazon music, while Soundcloud only had 100,000 paying subscribers
- Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Youtube Music, and Amazon Music all offer CarPlay compatible apps
Sam
“Save It for Later Listener”
Occupation: Server/DJ
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Sam spends 8 – 10 hours a week driving to and from his job as a server. During this time he likes to listen to music, it makes the stress of traffic more bearable and he hears songs that he later uses for his weekly DJ sets.
Sam Doesn’t like to touch his phone while driving. He knows it’s not safe, but frankly he is most afraid of getting pulled-over and written-up for a ticket. Thus, he bought an aftermarket stereo specifically to use Apple Carplay.
His favorite music app is Soundcloud, but they don’t have a Carplay compatible app. So instead, he bounces between Spotify’s and Pandora’s Carplay compatible apps.
During his drives he “skips” songs and “likes” songs accordingly, and switches between playlists to diversify the genres. Once, he gets home, if he’s not too tire, he will go through the likes on Pandora and Spotify (on his phone), then with his laptop find them on Soundcloud and add them to new or old playlists.
Core Needs:
Be able to listen to music, like songs, next/previous song, and explore multiple playlists – all without touching his phone.
Jackie drives 4 – 6 hours per week, she only drives to the office twice a week but has a long commute. Apple Carplay and Android Auto came standard in her car and since she has an iPhone she uses Apple Carplay. She likes to listen to EDM music and podcasts. If she remembers or has enough time she will start a (30min – 2hr) DJ set on Soundcloud before she starts driving. If she doesn’t like a song or a few consecutive songs within a DJ set she either skips the entire DJ set or switches apps completely to use a CarPlay compatible app – either listening to Apple Music or Apple Podcasts.
Core Needs:
Be able to start music, next/previous song, skip forward/rewind within a song, and explore multiple playlists – all without touching her phone.
Jackie
“Long-Form Content Listener”
Occupation: Marketing Manager
Location: Carlsbad, CA
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