Spotify - User Research Study
Qualtrics Surveys, User Interviews, Figma
For this project, I performed competitive analysis, analyzed survey data, and conducted user interviews in order to create a pitch for improving the Spotify user experience with a focus on user-to-user and user-to-artist interactivity.
Full presentation recording:
Goals:
In this study, the goal was to identify any pain points in the main Spotify UI, particularly through the lens of discoverability. This pertained to both finding new songs and artists to listen to, as well as viewing new releases from a listener’s favorite artist. By learning from both other music streaming platforms, as well as social media and content distribution services at large, the aim was to find ways to improve user engagement by increasing time spent not only listening to music and podcasts, but exploring content as well.
Guiding Research Questions:
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How do users currently interact with their favorite artists and learn about new music releases? Are there any pain points in this process?
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How are users discovering new artists, genres, podcasts, etc?
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What is the first thing users do when they open up their Spotify app? Do they already know what they want to listen to or are they open to something new?
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Do Spotify customers rely on other apps to hear about new music and podcasts?
Competitive Analysis
Surveys
Questions in this category come in 3 different varieties:
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History and regular use of the Spotify app and other social media platforms
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Overall user listening habits and patterns
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Current user satisfaction and areas of interest for future development
Once a number of questions were drafted, a work-in-progress survey was piloted with a test user. Questions were removed, added, or re-worded for clarity and completeness. Two instances of survey logic were used:
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A screening question insuring all respondents use Spotify as their primary way of streaming music
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A question concerning the user’s having a favorite artist that would prompt them to answer an additional question on their priorities with how they interact with this artist
After the survey questions were finalized, the survey was distributed by both asking users directly as well as distributing it via social media channels including Instagram and LinkedIn.
Data Summary
Out of a total of 23 survey respondents, 22 chose Spotify to be their most used streaming platform in question #1 and were prompted to complete the rest of the survey. Of these 22, 21 selected “Yes, I have favorite artists / bands that I come back to regularly” in question #6, and therefore filled out all 10 questions. The following highlights critical questions and their corresponding response data:
Survey Data Analysis
General User Base
Given the results from questions #1-#4, the average Spotify user can be better understood. Firstly, given the overlap between use of Spotify and Instagram, it can be understood that an exploration of an Instagram-like feed of new music / recommendations could be worth looking into. This could potentially include direct integration allowing users to connect with their favorite artists through both channels. This concept will be explored further during the following round of user interviews.
Additionally, as most respondents cited using Spotify multiple times a week (if not daily) over at least the last 3-5 years, it is clear how much of a routine using the application can be. This understanding puts a high priority on addressing user experience concerns, and can help to inform what a feed of notifications could look like.
Listening Habits
While a high majority of users cite having a favorite artist and describe going back to the same songs and artists regularly, there is also strong interest in exploring new songs and genres. For new music recommendations, users are most interested in receiving recommendations that come from trusted Spotify playlists, as well as their friends and family. This can help inform a more social aspect to the application that could be improved upon. In terms of favorite artists, new album and song releases, as well as information on upcoming concerts, are highly important. These two aspects will be explored further in user interviews.
User Satisfaction and Areas of Improvement
As discussed above, the two areas of lowest user satisfaction with the current application are “new release highlights / notifications” and “ connection to artists”. Given the strong interest in information regarding “new song / album releases” for favorite artists, improvement in this area is critical. This will help to shape the addition of a notification feed as well as improvement in both user-to-user and user-to-artist connection.
User Interviews
Expanding on what has been learned thus far through compiling survey data, the next step in this research study was to conduct a series of interviews to further investigate the Spotify user experience. First, an interview script was compiled, consisting of an introduction as well as main questions with associated / anticipated follow up questions. Following this, 4 representative users were selected. Over the course of about 30 minutes, each interviewee was asked questions according to the script. In addition to an audio recording, thorough notes of each interview were taken.
Common Themes
Paired with relevant quotes, the following common themes emerged while conducting interviews:
Spotify customers are extremely loyal, even with needed improvements: All interviewed users have been using Spotify for at least 8 years. Most of these users never truly considered using a competitor’s music streaming platform. Spotify seems to be a daily used platform for these users.
“I’ve always been using Spotify.. Once I started using it, that became the platform I use.. All my saved songs are on Spotify, I just don’t see myself changing it.” - Interview #1
Users have many options to do the same things: Users reported opening Spotify under many different circumstances, and at many different points throughout the day. These include going for walks in the afternoon, going to the gym, or cooking dinner. One pattern, or lack thereof, that was observed, was the numerous ways in which users accessed music once opening the app. This can include going to the search bar, looking for saved albums, opening a playlist, or more.
New Artist Discover is personal: There seems to be a general interest in finding new music to listen to from most interview participants. Additionally, recommendations from friends, family, or trusted online sources such as influencers or podcasts or more trusted than direct recommendations through Spotify.
“My biggest influence is people that I know. If they recommend something, I am more likely to try it and to probably like it.” - Interview #3
Spotify-pushed new releases aren’t reliable: Some users reported missing out on new releases and aren’t confident enough in the Spotify “algorithm” to reliably trust it as a source for new releases.
“Spotify is not really necessarily reliably telling me about new stuff from people I like.. I feel like Spotify definitely should have told me about this (a new release)” - Interview #1
“Release radar doesn’t really know what I like” - Interview #1
Music recommendations can feel inaccurate: Many users reported Spotify not being an accurate judge of their music taste. This can impact curated playlists and radio stations, as well as how the app serves notifications based on new releases.
“Given the amount of time I spend on it, I feel like it should know my taste better than it does” - Interview #1
“I get kind of disparate looking for recommendations. I create a radio station based on that one song hoping to find 12 other very similar songs and I’m not getting it… I usually don’t have a great way to do it at all.” - Interview #3
Following Artists Isn’t a Clear System:
While Spotify currently offers the option for users to press “follow” on an artist page, this process is not clear, both with regards to how it is done and what impact it has on the user’s experience. As this service isn’t provided reliably through Spotify, new releases can be missed. This leaves users relying on other sources, such as social media platforms and word of mouth, to stay up to date on new music.
“I don’t really see the point to it… Ideally, there would be some kind of feed of all the artists I am following, like new music… If there is a feature like that, I am not aware of it.” - Interview #1
“I don’t know if there is a ‘follow this artist’ feature… I get like a banner, or something, that’s like ‘Mumford and Sons has a new album coming out’ … I don’t think I’ve done any action that ‘follows’ Mumford and Sons directly." - Interview #3
“To be honest, if I click that ‘follow’ button, I don’t know what it means… Honestly I’m worried I’m going to get more emails from Spotify that I don’t need. The bands and artists that I really like I keep up well enough with on other apps, that I don’t really need to use Spotify for that reason… I follow most of my favorite artists on Instagram if they have it” - Interview #2
Some features of Spotify appear to be missing, whether they are too hidden or are actually missing altogether: In the more open - ended questions, users reported what features they wish Spotify would feature. This includes, as mentioned above, a ‘feed’ of new releases from followed artists, one that technically exists although is clearly too hidden and not user friendly enough. In addition, users reported wanting to have more access to their listening history and data, as well as bringing back previous features like user-to-user messaging.
“I kind of wish that information / statistics was available at a more accessible basis. It would be cool to see, right now, how many minutes you listen to this podcast… to see this data in real time.” - Interview #4
“I’m usually sharing it and texting it to the person… There used to be the messaging function, which I used very briefly when it was a thing, I don’t know if that is a thing any more.” - Interview #1
Recommendations for Further Improvement and Interactive Prototype
Based on user feedback and data, our research team has developed recommendations in the following areas, and an interactive prototype was created:
Home page feed
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Rather than hidden away in the side menu, a feed of new releases will declutter and organize the home screen
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Familiarity of design with social app timelines rather than a series of missed notifications will strengthen user engagement, and the chronological representation will prevent new releases from being missed
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Friends specific tab will present a stronger social experience
Algorithm improvements
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To reflect how users taste changes over time, common algorithms should reflect what users are listening to more recently
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Allow users to “promote” artists or songs to influence their friend’s algorithms, as well as their own
Improved artist follow feature
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Improving the visibility of the “Follow” button will help to improve music feed and update recommendation algorithms
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Integrating other social platforms (ex: Instagram), to automatically pull in what artist user’s are already engaging with on other platforms
User chat feature
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As noted by a user in an interview, the direct message platform has been missing from the app for some time
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91% of survey respondents take recommendations from friends