People say “Change is the only thing that’s constant”, but I would say ‘love for music’ has replaced the word ‘Change’ in the quote above. The craving for good music has increased among the people and they are ready to spend huge on getting the best quality available and we all witnessed the successful launch of revolutionary iPod.
Changing Trends
The new trend in the industry is Music Streaming and that’s where major players like Spotify, Pandora and Gaana etc. have found their space. It started mainly because music files were taking most of the smartphone space and people wanted an option to listen to their favorites anywhere, anytime. In a span of only 10 years, we’ve gone from ripping CDs, to our iPods, to downloading MP3s from iTunes, to storing and streaming music from the cloud.
Experience Vs Convenience
Hosting sites like Vevo and Youtube still has an advantage over music apps that are currently available. These sites provide an experience rather than just songs; people can watch videos, comment and interact, and this is one thing that’s lacking in apps streaming music. Apple was the first to start the music app revolution with the introduction of iTunes, but nowadays you can find Spotify and Pandora like players in the same league as well.
Here’s what we found missing in the popular music apps:
We All Like Being Conventional
In-built radio in smartphones are not of much use in the current world as most of the channels won’t be accessible due to network issues, and also it takes up a lot of space. One of the most awaited features by music lovers in a music app is ‘24/7 Radio’.
Hey! It’s ‘Turn Up the Music’
Thousands of songs are releasing every day internationally and at times we tend to forget some. Oh God!! Then there’s a World War to find that song. Well, say a word you remember from the song or even hum a melody if you remember and Tada!! Your music app finds you the song. Song recognition is what the music lovers need.
Wanderers in Search of Culture
So yeah, every music app has all kind of songs – Pop, Jazz, Hip-Hop etc. Music is not just about entertainment, it’s also about culture of a specific community or region. Most of the times, music app developers forget to add ‘country music’ in their collection. The true fans of music are definitely waiting for this addition.
What Gives Artist a HAPPY SMILE 🙂
Users are damn happy that they can access good quality music whenever they want without even paying for it, but sadly artists and music companies are not. Though streaming is growing, there are still big questions over its viability to provide musicians with a significant income stream. Recently, Taylor Swift took off her album 1989 from Spotify as they didn’t have a ‘premium’ option in their app, and the songs were available for free streaming.
Wildest Dreams
Next generation music products need to be Dynamic, Interactive, Social and Curated, and apps need to be changed and updated with new content frequently. It should not be just an app, it should be an experience that they’ll always remember.
But the question is, with all these kickass features, how future music app will look like in reality? Are you kidding? That would be the best thing that’ll happen after the invention of Nutella.