Are you interested in creating an app for online music streaming? Here is an ultimate guide on how to build a music streaming app.
Contents
The most popular music streaming apps on the market
Let’s start with a brief market overview. The best music streaming platforms are:
- Spotify – a music library, basing on a server, which reached 100,000,000 subscribers in 2019;
- Pandora – a famous app to listen to music or radio on demand;
- Apple Music – a relatively young but extremely popular music library developed by Apple;
- YouTube Music – a streaming service developed by Google, the popularity of which is increasing rapidly;
- Soundcloud – a favorite music streaming app because of its social media features like adding comments and viewing other users’ preferences.
They each have key features that make them popular in the market, for instance:
- purchasing songs
- social integration
- a search option
- making playlists
- covering many platforms
- offline mode
- song ratings
Audio streaming has become extremely profitable during the last decade. There exist lots of music apps like Pandora offering streaming services. That’s why you need to mind several peculiarities to build an app.
How to make a music app: a full guide
Modern users demand several essential details of a good music platform. If you want to build a music streaming app, you need to consider user requests. Let’s find out the users’ latest requirements.
Build a music application: Key points
There are 6 points to take into account to create a music streaming app like Pandora. But before moving to them, we strongly recommend performing market research: listing and analyzing the main rivals. It will help you build a better strategy for your app and develop features your competitors don’t possess.
License
Getting a license is the first crucial step. Streaming music around the world may be too costly, even for big companies like Spotify or Pandora. So, choose a particular region and inquire about the price of the license for music streaming there. Then develop the best price for your application, covering all the license expenses and letting you gain profit. Never skip this stage before starting the development process.
Platform
The two leading platforms are – Android and IOS. You need to select the most suitable one. Our suggestion is to develop an app on each to reach the most potential users. If the budget is tight, it will be enough to select only one, considering the more popular one in the selected region. For instance, in the USA, IOS is more popular, while in Europe, Android systems are used more frequently.
Monetization strategies
Building a profitable music application is a challenging task. The most popular ways to monetize an app are:
- Subscription – offering a monthly or yearly subscription to receive unlimited access (Apple Music). This variant is the most widespread.
- Advertisement – using the free version involves ads. To remove them, a user needs to buy a premium version. The app tracks the music you like and suggests the similar.
Design
The appearance of music apps plays a crucial role. The interface should look user-friendly, simple, but stylish on any device. The simple navigation technology and laconic outlook are vital for improving user experience. Users are more likely to keep using and pay for features if the app is easy to understand and use, so hiring a good UI/UX designer is an absolute must.
Features
These are the essential features to make an app like Pandora.
- Registration. This procedure should be fast and easy. The popular technology allows for signing up via a social media account, so the user should have the option to register via social websites, e-mail, or phone number. Forgot Password detail is essential.
- Search. A search engine is necessary for users. You may find music via artists, albums, titles, genres, or topics.
- Playlist. The users can create playlists, remove, or share with others. The playlist management should be easy.
- Social sharing. This enables users to share their preferences via social websites, creating a sense of community inside the app. It works like free advertising.
- Likes/dislikes. This technology is necessary to remember the user’s preferences and suggest listening to similar music. It helps to personalize user experience.
- Purchases inside an app. It is an optional feature that allows for buying songs.
What does it cost to build a music streaming app like Pandora?
The final development cost depends on the region, features, the complexity of technology, and the developers’ hourly rate. In Eastern Europe, it comprises approximately $40/hour. Don’t forget you should never stop upgrading your application and making it more user friendly. This will require additional features and, therefore, spending more money on its development.
