How to create an app like Spotify

The online music industry has taken giant leaps in recent years. From using basic media player applications to tuning into apps with inbuilt radio and music libraries, we have come a long way. Music apps fall in the category of entertainment apps and contribute heavily to the growth of this sector.

Spotify is considered a pioneer in the league of music apps as it is one of the most popular audio and music streaming platforms across the world. Even with popular and heavyweight contenders like Amazon Music, Apple Music, and others, it has managed to make a mark.

Therefore, if you are planning to launch a music app of your own, then you may be on the right track (pun intended!). In this blog, we have covered all the aspects of music app development to help you build an app like Spotify. Read till the end and get bonus tips and suggestions.

In this blog

1. Online music industry: Facts & statistics
2. Benefits of creating a music app like Spotify
3. Key features of a successful music streaming app
4. How to build a music streaming app like Spotify?
5. Frequently Asked Questions

Online music industry: Facts & statistics

Music is an indispensable part of our lives. The evolution of mobile phone technology has been in sync with this fact as companies have been building gadgets and accessories that can enhance our music streaming experience. The mobile app industry is not behind in this race.

In fact, the music streaming industry is gaining momentum and mobile apps have a lot to do with its rapid expansion. Before we start discussing the stages of development, let us glance at a few facts and statistics that point at the growth of Spotify and the online music industry at large:

• The global online music streaming market is growing at a rapid pace. The subscriber base is expected to reach around 2.8 billion by 2025.
• Around 524 million people listen to their favorite artists or discover music through online streaming platforms.
• Revenue in the Music Streaming segment is estimated to reach 25.71 billion US dollars in 2023.
• Climbing at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 5.13 percent, the market is projected to reach a value of 31.4 billion US dollars by 2027.
• According to some reports, the average revenue per user in the Music Streaming segment will be around 37 US dollars by the year 2025.
• In 2021, streaming accounted for 65 percent of total global recorded music revenue. 47.3 percent of it was subscription-based and 17.7 percent was from ad-supported streams.
• Global streaming revenues reached 16.9 billion US dollars in the year 2021, the highest ever recorded.
• On the contrary, the contribution of physical music to total revenue has decreased drastically. In 2021, it contributed only 19.2 percent to the total figure.

• Spotify’s subscriber base has doubled in half a decade. As of the last quarter of 2022, it had 205 million premium subscribers worldwide.
• Pandora is the highest-grossing music app on the Apple App Store and generates around 15 million US dollars in revenue each month.
• The United States has 82.1 million paying music subscribers and Spotify owns 32 percent of the subscriber’s share in the US market. Whereas Apple Music owns 16 percent and Amazon Music owns 13 percent of the share.
• Americans stream music for an average of 75 minutes per day. Interestingly, radio engagement is 16% higher than short-form video apps among listeners.

Source

The music industry is worth billions of dollars and there are several apps that have already carved out a name for themselves. However, there is always room for new and fresh ideas, and you can launch your own music app to ride the waves and create a Spotify like brand of your own.

Benefits of creating a music app like Spotify

Is it profitable to launch a music app? Why create a music app at all? In this section, we will address similar questions by highlighting the advantages of owning a music app like Spotify. Launch a music app of your own and ensure multiple benefits, as listed below:

Music app industry is growing

Entertainment is one of the top categories in terms of app downloads and revenue. Additionally, the statistics listed above show that music apps have a huge contribution in the growth and expansion of this category. Therefore, now is a great time to launch an app of your own and fascinate listeners with your unique music streaming app ideas. Create an app like Spotify or use your own creativity to design an outstanding music app and engage listeners.

Apps unify and enhance the experience

Shopping can still be done on websites. However, when it comes to listening to their favorite tracks, listeners prefer apps as it gives them one-click access to endless music. Mobile apps can also easily be connected to IOT (Internet of Things) devices, voice assistants and other systems to stream and broadcast music. Moreover, apps can bring a range of audio, podcasts, and tracks under one organized roof. This makes apps the first choice for streaming music and eventually a viable business idea.

App-based users are more loyal

Most website visitors have a tendency of not returning to the sites they viewed once or moving to the competitor sites soon after. On the other hand, it is easier to hook users to mobile apps as compared to websites. Once your music app is downloaded on a user’s device, they will keep launching and using it as long as it offers a smooth and rewarding experience. This ensures user loyalty and better conversion and retention rates.

It is easy to monetize music apps

Monetization is often a breeze for content streaming apps. An app like Spotify can generate revenue through premium account subscriptions as well as in-app advertisements. Music app owners can also charge listeners for audio books, engage in paid partnerships and affiliate marketing, and more. You can implement any monetization technique and make your app successful. All in all, having a music app can open several avenues of earning and income.

Apps give the power of data

Apps can bring businesses closer to their customers. Users launch an app several times a day and interact with it on a regular basis. Unlike websites, apps can also leverage device features and get better access to user data. Moreover, music apps can give access to critical user data points like name, age, location, language preferences, content preferences, etc. Businesses can use these databases to customize their content offering, pick advertisements, and unlock new opportunities.

Key features of a successful music streaming app

Music apps economize music streaming as instead of paying royalty for different tracks repeatedly, listeners only pay for the subscription of one platform and then get access to endless content. Such apps usually have a pay-per-stream arrangement with artists and record companies, and this makes it easier for listeners to get access to a plethora of tracks under one roof.

However, a good music app is not just about endless content. The success or failure of a music app can also be determined by its features. While the final set of features will depend upon your app type, category, niche and goals, here is a list that you can refer to and take inspiration from: 

• Easy registration, sign up & login (including login via Email, Google, etc.)
• Profile creation, authorization, and management
• Stream songs, audiobooks, podcasts, etc.
• Intuitive search & filter for finding tracks, albums, & artists
• Classification based on artists, genres, languages, etc.
• Select preferred language and artists
• Personalized content recommendations
• Create and categorize playlists
• Like, unlike, follow and unfollow artists / songs / playlists
• Share songs and artists with friends
• Display song lyrics and track details
• Download songs for listening offline
• Create or upload own music library
• In-app advertisement support
• Multilingual & localization support
• Push notification support
• User activity insights and app analytics

These are the features that you can incorporate in your music streaming app. If needed, you can also curate your own unique list using a combination of features present in the apps of your competitors. Focus on features that align with your app goals and make the journey easy for your listeners.

How to build a music streaming app like Spotify?

Now let us cut to the creation part and find out how you can develop a music streaming app like Spotify. Go through the step-by-step guide below and learn about multiple ways of music streaming app development:

Step 1: Brainstorm your idea

Do you want to develop a music streaming app or a radio app? Will the app include tracks from around the globe or will it be dedicated to your regional language and artists? Is the app for your existing listener base or do you want to go global? These are some of the questions that you should address before getting into development.

Conduct detailed research and study your competitors, target audience, potential market, and other related entities. This will help you understand the needs of your listeners and propel your efforts in the right direction. Fix a niche and jot down your ideas. Make your app and business decisions accordingly.

Step 2: Choose the licensing type

To stream music owned by artists, labels, and record companies, you will need to acquire a licence. This is important to save your business from piracy, copyright infringement or any other legal violation. For instance, Spotify runs on following two types of licences for the distribution of music:

• Sound Recording License Agreements (covers the rights to recordings)
• Musical Composition License Agreement (covers the artists or people who own rights to the song)

Get legal help and authorization that suits your app type and goals. Stream legit content and avoid any conflict. While this may come with a catch as licencing costs can be high, it is mandatory to follow these regulations. Other than that, also focus on aligning with the laws that are centric to your location and jurisdiction.

Step 3: Create app wireframes

Once you are done with the preparatory work, you can start designing blueprints for your app. Having clearly defined app models and architecture will help you streamline your design and development processes and use the resources reasonably. It will also help you share your ideas with the stakeholders and iron out any creases in the initial stages.

Start with creating wireframes to define your app layout and architecture. Then proceed to creating mock-ups to illustrate the design, UI/UX and the overall look and feel of the app. Finally, you can create app prototypes to showcase how your app will function and how users will interact with it. You can refer to our detailed guide and create prototypes for your app like a professional.

Step 4: Build your music app

Once your app design and layout are final, you can proceed to developing the app. Start with finetuning your UI/UX and then add the features, functionalities, and content. Sounds confusing? Well, there are three popular methods that you can use to develop your mobile app. Go through them below and pick the one that suits you best:

No-code DIY music app development

If you have no prior experience in coding and you are looking for an affordable yet advanced solution, then no-code DIY app development is the way to go. Create your music streaming app with a no-code music app maker like AppMySite. Here you can transform your music website into an app in minutes and manage everything from design to development and deployment under one roof. It is suitable for all kinds of budget and businesses and is the most efficient way of building apps.

Low-code app development

If you have some knowledge of programming and a steep learning curve does not bother you or affect your timeline, you can opt for a low-code app development platform. Such platforms enable you to build your app with some amount of coding. However, low-code app building is neither as easy as no-code development nor as flexible as custom app development frameworks. Besides, why work with code widgets when you can go completely code free with no-code app builders.

Custom app development agencies or tools

This is the good old method of app development that has been in practice for years. If you are a developer or have the budget and resources to hire a team of professionals or an agency, then go for the traditional method of app development. However, this will be a time-taking process and may not suit beginners or businesses with limited budget and tight deadlines. Custom app development can also be tricky as app owners do not get complete authority over the process.

Step 5: Test and publish

Locked a development method that suits you? Go ahead and build or get your app built by the developers. Once the app build is ready, put it to test on app testing platforms. Also evaluate your apps in real environments if you can. Get a first-hand experience of your app before getting it on the stores for users. When satisfied, you can go ahead and publish your app on the Google Play Store and Apple App Stores. Start collecting reviews and ratings and promote your app to get more downloads.

In conclusion

Music apps have completely transformed the music industry. In fact, many artists and production houses treat mobile-based listeners as their primary and target consumers. Moreover, the key players in the industry are phenomenally successful and go on to show that music apps are a viable business idea.

If you are fascinated by all the facts that you read here and want to invest in a music app, this might be a suitable time. If you already have a music website, you do not need to begin from zero and then wait a year to take your idea to the app market. Instead, go with AppMySite and turn your existing website into an app in minutes.

Go from website to music app in no time and launch your app on the top app stores for Android and iOS listeners. Either promote your own artists or list tracks and content from national and international performers and put your brand on the map.

Frequently Asked Questions