SPOTIFY
Giving Artists the customisation they need & deserve with the Spotify Artist Catalogue Manager
Overview:
Spotify had decided to give artists control of their catalogues on their platform. For the first time, artists could make their own albums, upload their artwork, sell specific merchandise, add lyrics to their musc etc and it’s all on their own terms.
Task:
Design a Mac-based editor and artist management system that allows artists to manage their presence on Spotify.
Problem:Despite Spotify‘s prominence in the music streaming market, Artists weren’t getting the same level of experience and customisation that other platforms provided . This as a result had reduced user confidence in the platform as they felt limited in their capability to manage their profile presence online.
Web Application
Sector:
Music Streaming
Role: Research, Persona & Customer Synthesis, Ideation, Wireframing, Prototyping & Testing
Time: 12 Weeks
*Project for Academy Xi Degree
Problem Statement
Musicians use online platforms because they offer an efficient and convenient way for audiences to access their music. However, as artists’ needs diversify and their offerings evolve, it has become essential for them to curate and customise their online presence—shaping their profile, services, and audience experience on their own terms.
Musicians use online platforms because they offer an efficient and convenient way for audiences to access their music. However, as artists’ needs diversify and their offerings evolve, it has become essential for them to curate and customise their online presence—shaping their profile, services, and audience experience on their own terms.
Discovery Insights
Insights revealed that artists wanted more control over uploading and managing content. Key pain points included relying on third-party services for uploads, difficulty claiming their artist page, and a lack of direct submission to playlists. Artists also wanted to curate how fans experience their music and update them within Spotify. Overall, the confusing and unreliable upload process led to a sense of disengagement.The Personas
Using Affinity and Empathy Mapping, we created concise personas that helped consolidate our findings. We discovered that users generally:
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Desired a higher degree of customization within their Artist Content Manager (ACM)
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Preferred a hands-on approach to uploading and editing their content
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Were less concerned with cost, valuing Spotify primarily for the exposure it provided
Clearly, Spotify has a business imperative to offer enhanced customization features, as this would restore user confidence and improve overall engagement.
Mapping The Journey
Creating multiple customer journey maps allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of key touchpoints in the user experience, highlighting areas where users desired more functionality or were losing confidence in the platform. By mapping the entire journey, we identified critical moments of friction and opportunity, enabling us to pinpoint exactly where improvements were needed to enhance user engagement and trust.
How Might We
How might we provide energy conscious consumers a balance of convenience, product knowledge and a seamless sign up process to give them the confidence to engage and commit to a new energy provider.
How might we provide energy conscious consumers a balance of convenience, product knowledge and a seamless sign up process to give them the confidence to engage and commit to a new energy provider.
Ideation
Through the execution of our Customer Journey Map, Crazy 8’s, and group brainwriting, we developed solutions to address customer pain points and enhance the functionality of the Artist Content Manager (ACM), while evolving Spotify’s existing offerings. The Crazy 8’s session yielded several key features, including a unified upload function for singles, EPs, and albums, an editable profile layout, direct messaging, notifications, song submission to playlists, a shop, video capabilities, and artist recommendations.The Concept
Design a reliable, robust Artist Content Manager (ACM) that offers extensive customization options and accommodates the diverse needs, workflows, and goals of different types of artists using the platform.
Design a reliable, robust Artist Content Manager (ACM) that offers extensive customization options and accommodates the diverse needs, workflows, and goals of different types of artists using the platform.
Testing & Iteration
Through testing and mentor/peer reviews, iterative refinements led to key improvements that optimised the platform. The upload function was repositioned from the top navigation to relevant categories (e.g. Shops > Upload Merch), image upload was added to messaging, and the UI and colour palette were streamlined for greater clarity and usability. While no major changes were necessary—thanks to strong initial testing—these smaller tweaks significantly enhanced the overall effectiveness of the prototype.Findings & Reflection
Looking ahead, there are additional features that could further enhance the ACM experience:-
Pre-built message templates for common use cases (e.g. single releases, upcoming shows)
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Customisable profile colours and the option to enable Dark Mode
- Collaborative playlist functionality for artists
Final Recommendation
We recommended repositioning the Spotify ACM as a bespoke experience purpose-built for artists. By integrating the existing light purple from Spotify’s UI design brand guidelines, the updated design delivers a backend that feels intuitive, visually distinct, and personally tailored—enhancing usability and creative ownership through greater customisation, streamlined navigation, and expanded access to tools and features.