Pain Points

1. Unless part of a large label, artists have to upload their music through a third-party.

2. Once music is uploaded, artists have little control over how their music is displayed or listened to.

3. Artists can only upload one song at a time to be considered for Spotify playlists.

4. Spotify for Artists page is hard to find.

5. When adding personal playlists to artist pages, they often don’t show up in a listener’s search.

6. Independent artists do not feel valued by Spotify.

Assumptions

1. Most people using Spotify for Artists are independent and self releasing their music.

2. Artists who are uploading their songs are moderately tech savvy.

3. Users are trying to expand their audience (beyond Soundcloud, Bandcamp, etc.)

4. Spotify for Artists should provide tools to allow users to expand their audience.

5. A lesser known artist wants to be treated the same way as a larger artist or label.

6. Spotify’s public perception goal is to be known that they promotes lesser known artists.

7. Spotify is one of the top listening platforms that artists want to be on.

8. Artists want to be able to upload their music directly to Spotify.

Ethnographic Study

Look and Feel

Spotify for artists looks clean and utilitarian. Navigation-wise, there are very few tabs to click through, and all of them are labeled very clearly. The homepage incorporates article links that are displayed in a similar style to their playlist art. Everything is very grid-based, and the same type is used throughout the entire website and app. They are not afraid to leave negative space when content is not needed, so there are no distractions.

However, Spotify for Artists does not feel the same as the normal Spotify app, creating a clear distinction between the two. They are unmistakable for each other, but still follow the same branding guidelines. Spotify for Artists still feels like Spotify, without being Spotify.

Usability

While the homepage supplies some helpful articles, it doesn’t do much else. I find myself wishing that the home-page served as more of a command center than what it currently is.

The music tab lists everything you’ve uploaded to Spotify. If you click on a song or album, it’ll lead directly to the stats of your choice, which makes the audience tab seem redundant. Possibly, audience and music could be combined. Upcoming could possibly become its own tab, as this feature

is important to placing your music on Spotify’s official playlists.

The profile tab gives you a preview of what your Spotify page will look like. Being able to select mobile preview would be helpful, as this is how the majority of listeners use Spotify.

Emotions

Spotify for Artists feels good to look at! You get the feeling of control over how your music is presented. Clicking on the audience tab and seeing all the data pop up is a moment of suspense, and whether your stats are positive or negative, the feeling of clarity is strong.

The main page mostly provides the feeling of “this is it?” I feel like this is a major opportunity for improvement, as you are expecting everything you need to be right in front of you as soon as you load the page. While the presented articles could be helpful, they take up too much space on the screen, as if they are more important than they actually are.

competitor research

We looked at the similarities and differences between Spotify and other music platforms from the artists’ perspective.

User Survey

We surveyed Spotify and Spotify for Artists users to gain insight on what they needed and how they felt about the product.

55% had a Spotify for Artists account

82% were independent artists

55% uploaded their music through third-party services

55% felt that Spotify does not value independent artists

18% felt they were treated the same as larger artists on Spotify