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Fluctus
Design
Empathize
Certain people enjoy having a more in depth experience with the music they are listening to as well as having more control over the way they organize their music collection
Define
There is a lack of products that contains the features that would enhance the way the user can organise and share the music they like
A music streaming app that would host an array of features based around user control as well as more nuanced way to interact with music such as album collections
Ideate
Market overview
Music streaming has completely changed the music industry. In fact, the vast majority of music listeners now rely on music streaming platforms. With average listeners spending 20 hours and 42 minutes listening to music per week (which is around 3 hours per day) the industry continues to grow at a very high rate.
84%
of music revenue is from streaming
10%
is the growth of music streaming industry over the last year
$17.5 b
is music streaming’s global revenue
23%
of music all streaming is paid music streaming
78%
of people listen to music via a streaming service
600 m
people subscribe to a music streaming platform
source: explodingtopics.com
Monetization
The freemium model has proven to be quite successful in pushing the products to a larger audience yet the viability of such model in any kind of music streaming product should be a subject of an extensive business analysis. As for the artist the hybrid model is preferred, as it allows artists get their revenue not only from the ads and fees but also from direct support from listeners which could be beneficial for both as in this way listeners can get access to unique content as well as early album acess.
Artists
A flat fee per stream
+
Revenue from ads
+
Direct support from listeners
Non-sub
users
Revenue from ads shared with artists
Subscibed
users
A monthly fee of
$10.99
Competitor analysis
As the market is dominated by just a couple of products it would make sense to group the competitors into two group: the market leaders and those who try to compete with them by providing certain unique features.
Strengths: high res audio being the main feature for both while Qobuz also includes a magazine which is perhaps the closest feature among the competitors to the project’s vision
Weaknesses: weaker algorithms compared to market leaders, not freemium - sample only for non subscribers, subscriptions tier are pricy/confusing , not available in some regions
Qobuz
TIDAL
Niche
Strengths: Large user base, strong algorithms and exclusivity to iOs in case of Apple Music, availability in most countries, freemium model for Spotify users
Weaknesses: limited non-music content, no freemium for Apple Music
Spotify
Apple
Music
Market leaders
Quick summary: While niche products rely on hi-rez audio as their main features and the market leaders on the playlist-centric algorithms and reachability both lack the features that define Fluctus, creating a niche to be fulfilled
Inspirations
Spotify
Right thumb friendly
Spotify
An effective 2-click filtering system
TIDAL
Simple, clean and readable
Notable features
Qobuz
Extended credits
Qobuz
An original magazine
Qobuz
Album descriptions
Things to avoid
TIDAL
A poor library navigation + emptiness
TIDAL
Same emptiness, blandness
Deezer
15(!) to select on an unskippable page
User personas
The target audience of the app are those who already use some music streaming app but are unsatisfied with the lack of features they would like to see in a such app.
Listening Habits:
They often listen while working, cooking, or relaxing, and enjoy discovering both classic records and deep cuts from lesser-known artists.
Goals with Music:
Discover new albums across various genres
Support artists by understanding the full creative vision of their work
Build and share themed playlists based on full albums
Pain Points with Streaming Apps:
Streaming apps that prioritize singles or shuffle by default
Poor album metadata or missing tracks
Difficulty finding albums by mood or concept
Preferred Features:
Seamless album playback without interruptions
High-quality audio options
Editorial content or recommendations centered around full albums
Option to follow artists for album-based updates
Music Taste:
Indie rock, jazz, progressive rock, neo-soul
Favorite artists: Radiohead, Kamasi Washington, Joni Mitchell, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
Persona: James
Age: 34
Occupation: Audio producer
Location:
Cork IRL
Listening Habits:
Primarily listens to full albums, start to finish, believes albums are meant to be experienced as a whole.
Curates a few highly specific playlists, mostly for different moods or activities.
Listens with high-quality headphones or through a home audio setup — sound quality matters.
Often reads about the artists and album context before or during listening.
Goals with Music:
To immerse deeply in the artistry of music
Discover cohesive bodies of work, not just hit singles
Support artists by engaging with their full creative output
Pain Points with Streaming Apps:
Frustrated by auto-playlists or shuffle modes interrupting album flow
Finds recommendation algorithms too single-focused
Wishes for more liner notes, artist insights, or album credits
Music Taste:
Indie rock, jazz, ambient, experimental electronic
Occasionally dives into classic albums across genres for music history context
Persona: Leon
Age: 29
Occupation: UX Designer
Location: Portland, OR
The personas are generated with a help of ChatGPT
Mind Map
A mind map of all the emerged features that give the project it’s unique value, the two main themes are user control and in depth interaction with music content.
Outtakes
Information architecture
The app usage is focused around five key pages with a lot of looping, especially around the Album/playlist playback page.
User flows
Regular use
App discovery
Wireframes
This is the one truly unique feature of the product - album collections. The simple way to think about them is as a way to organize your music collection, they are functionally similar to playlists but for albums.
Album collection view
The Header is hideable
New release at the top appears only when there is a new release from a followed or frequently listened artist.
Themed rows are based on the algorithm and are limited to 2 in order to avoid the other features, such as the magazine, being lost.
Home
Among the direct competitors (the Niche category) there is one feature that is either absent (Qobuz) or hidden behind a paid subscription (Tidal) that is crucial for expanded version of albums with a lot of outtakes/live stuff and that is hide track/album.
More options menu
The search results hierarchy:
Artists
Tracks
Albums
Curated collections
Curated playlists
User collections
User playlists
Articles
Search results
When downloaded + a single category are selected the rest of the chips become hidden.
Library B / Playback bar
The scroll icon at the bottom does the same as the credits icon - scrolls down to extended credits.
Now playing
The content can be filtered by the 2 categories:
Downloaded (which is at the end of the list, it includes all the downloaded content on this device)
+
Tracks
Albums
Playlists
Collection (Album collections)
These are the 3 grids for the library view
Library A
One of the feature that other music streaming apps missing is the display of the tracks duration in their mobile versions of the app. The Fluctus provide the user with such information as its aligns with its core principles and it’s especially handy for long compositions.
The articles section naturally appears only when there related articles available.
Album/playlist view
The create page’s prompt gives a clear idea to the user that not only they can create their own content but also annotate it and publish for the other users to experience.
Create
Style guide
font family
Outfit
Typography
Small | Artists, tracks
13 light
Body | Most of text
16 Regular
H4 | Now playing
16 Bold
H3 | Rows on home
20 Bold
H2 | Album names
24 SemiBold
H1 | Intro, mag
32 Bold
Buttons & icons
Navigation bar
Add | Download | Playback
Chips
Grids | Drop | Follow | Sample rate
More options | Add to |
Hide | Queue| Artist | Credits | Share
Back | Create | Settings | Devices | Scroll | Fold
Buttons
Colours
#1D1D1D
main colour
background
covers the most by far
#FFFFFF
text
active icons
smaller playback icons
articles background
#EDBF4C
secondary
buttons
#EDBF4C + #EBBDD1
secondary
larger buttons
hero page
combination of secondary and tertiary
#EBBDD1
tertiary
#86FFD9
tertiary
#B1B1B1
icons
#3C3C3C
more options menu
Prototype
is a music streaming app with a focus on user control and in-depth interaction with music
Fluctus
Empathize
Certain people enjoy having a more in depth experience with the music they are listening to as well as having more control over the way they organize their music collection
Define
There is a lack of products that contains the features that would enhance the way the user can organise and share the music they like
Ideate
A music streaming app that would host an array of features based around user control as well as more nuanced way to interact with music such as album collections
Design
Market overview
Music streaming has completely changed the music industry. In fact, the vast majority of music listeners now rely on music streaming platforms. With average listeners spending 20 hours and 42 minutes listening to music per week (which is around 3 hours per day) the industry continues to grow at a very high rate.
84%
of music revenue is from streaming
10%
is the growth of music streaming industry over the last year
$17.5 b
is music streaming’s global revenue
23%
of music all streaming is paid music streaming
78%
of people listen to music via a streaming service
600 m
people subscribe to a music streaming platform
source: explodingtopics.com
Monetization
The freemium model has proven to be quite successful in pushing the products to a larger audience yet the viability of such model in any kind of music streaming product should be a subject of an extensive business analysis. As for the artist the hybrid model is preferred, as it allows artists get their revenue not only from the ads and fees but also from direct support from listeners which could be beneficial for both as in this way listeners can get access to unique content as well as early album acess.
Subscibed
users
A monthly fee of
$10.99
Non-sub
users
Revenue from ads shared with artists
Artists
A flat fee per stream
+
Revenue from ads
+
Direct support from listeners
Competitor analysis
As the market is dominated by just a couple of products it would make sense to group the competitors into two group: the market leaders and those who try to compete with them by providing certain unique features.
Niche
Qobuz
TIDAL
Strengths: high res audio being the main feature for both while Qobuz also includes a magazine which is perhaps the closest feature among the competitors to the project’s vision
Weaknesses: weaker algorithms compared to market leaders, not freemium - sample only for non subscribers, subscriptions tier are pricy/confusing , not available in some regions
Market leaders
Spotify
Apple
Strengths: Large user base, strong algorithms and exclusivity to iOs in case of Apple Music, availability in most countries, freemium model for Spotify users
Weaknesses: limited non-music content, no freemium for Apple Music
Quick summary: While niche products rely on hi-rez audio as their main features and the market leaders on the playlist-centric algorithms and reachability both lack the features that define Fluctus, creating a niche to be fulfilled
Inspirations
Notable features
Things to avoid
User personas
The target audience of the app are those who already use some music streaming app but are unsatisfied with the lack of features they would like to see in a such app.
Persona: Leon
Age: 29
Occupation: UX Designer
Location: Portland, OR
Listening Habits:
Primarily listens to full albums, start to finish, believes albums are meant to be experienced as a whole.
Curates a few highly specific playlists, mostly for different moods or activities.
Listens with high-quality headphones or through a home audio setup — sound quality matters.
Often reads about the artists and album context before or during listening.
Goals with Music:
To immerse deeply in the artistry of music
Discover cohesive bodies of work, not just hit singles
Support artists by engaging with their full creative output
Pain Points with Streaming Apps:
Frustrated by auto-playlists or shuffle modes interrupting album flow
Finds recommendation algorithms too single-focused
Wishes for more liner notes, artist insights, or album credits
Music Taste:
Indie rock, jazz, ambient, experimental electronic
Occasionally dives into classic albums across genres for music history context
Persona: James
Age: 34
Occupation: Audio producer
Location:
Cork IRL
Listening Habits:
They often listen while working, cooking, or relaxing, and enjoy discovering both classic records and deep cuts from lesser-known artists.
Goals with Music:
Discover new albums across various genres
Support artists by understanding the full creative vision of their work
Build and share themed playlists based on full albums
Pain Points with Streaming Apps:
Streaming apps that prioritize singles or shuffle by default
Poor album metadata or missing tracks
Difficulty finding albums by mood or concept
Preferred Features:
Seamless album playback without interruptions
High-quality audio options
Editorial content or recommendations centered around full albums
Option to follow artists for album-based updates
Music Taste:
Indie rock, jazz, progressive rock, neo-soul
Favorite artists: Radiohead, Kamasi Washington, Joni Mitchell, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
The personas are generated with a help of ChatGPT
Mind Map
A mind map of all the emerged features that give the project it’s unique value, the two main themes are user control and in depth interaction with music content.
Outtakes
Information architecture
The app usage is focused around five key pages with a lot of looping, especially around the Album/playlist playback page.
User flows
Wireframes
The Header is hideable
New release at the top appears only when there is a new release from a followed or frequently listened artist.
Themed rows are based on the algorithm and are limited to 2 in order to avoid the other features, such as the magazine, being lost.
Home
The search results hierarchy:
Artists
Tracks
Albums
Curated collections
Curated playlists
User collections
User playlists
Articles
Search results
The content can be filtered by the 2 categories:
Downloaded (which is at the end of the list, it includes all the downloaded content on this device)
+
Tracks
Albums
Playlists
Collection (Album collections)
These are the 3 grids for the library view
Library A
When downloaded + a single category are selected the rest of the chips become hidden.
Library B / Playback bar
One of the feature that other music streaming apps missing is the display of the tracks duration in their mobile versions of the app. The Fluctus provide the user with such information as its aligns with its core principles and it’s especially handy for long compositions.
The articles section naturally appears only when there related articles available.
Album/playlist view
The scroll icon at the bottom does the same as the credits icon - scrolls down to extended credits.
Now playing
This is the one truly unique feature of the product - album collections. The simple way to think about them is as a way to organize your music collection, they are functionally similar to playlists but for albums.
Album collection view
Among the direct competitors (the Niche category) there is one feature that is either absent (Qobuz) or hidden behind a paid subscription (Tidal) that is crucial for expanded version of albums with a lot of outtakes/live stuff and that is hide track/album.
More options menu
The create page’s prompt gives a clear idea to the user that not only they can create their own content but also annotate it and publish for the other users to experience.
Create
Style guide
Colours
#1D1D1D
main colour
background
covers the most by far
#FFFFFF
text
active icons
smaller playback icons
articles background
#EDBF4C
secondary
buttons
#EDBF4C + #EBBDD1
secondary
larger buttons
hero page
combination of secondary and tertiary
#EBBDD1
tertiary
#86FFD9
tertiary
#B1B1B1
icons
#3C3C3C
more options menu
font family
Outfit
Typography
Small
13 light
Body
16 Regular
H4
16 Bold
H3
20 Bold
H2
24 SemiBold
H1
32 Bold
Buttons & icons
Navigation bar
Add | Download | Playback
Chips
Grids | Drop | Follow | Sample rate
More options | Add to |
Hide | Queue| Artist | Credits | Share
Back | Create | Settings | Devices | Scroll | Fold
Buttons
Prototype
