How much will it cost to develop a music streaming app?

There was a time when we have to download the music & songs through the 3rd party mediums. But now as the internet has become common and is now available in the hands of everyone, people now prefer apps to stream music. Now, you can find many musics streaming apps in the Google Play Store, and App Store.

You must have heard the famous names such as Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Amazon music, etc. These apps are getting used by millions of users and offer good value for money. In this article, we would be guiding you on how to develop a music streaming application and how much will it cost?

Music Streaming Market Stats:

• Revenue in the Music Streaming segment is projected to reach US$16,395m in 2020.
• The annual growth rate (CAGR 2020–2025) is expected to be 5.4% which will result in the projected market volume of US $21, 315 million by 2025.
• Spotify is leading the music streaming market with a market share of 36%.
• As per Apple, nearly 60 million users pay for Apple Music Subscription.

You can clearly see the great future of the music streaming market. In the beginning, it would be a big challenge to compete with already established players such as Spotify or Pandora. These platforms have spent huge time and investment in building their user base. They have to spend tons of money in machine learning & artificial intelligence to provide exciting features such as suggesting tracks, playlists, artists, etc.

Let’s know the market leaders with whom you will compete one day:

1. Spotify

You must have heard of this music streaming application. Spotify is the best music streaming app. It gives you access to millions of songs, podcasts and also videos from artists all over the world. It is appealing to the users as they can access the content by just simply signing up through their email or by Facebook. Spotify is available for both free and premium versions. You can search for music and add them to your playlist and save the songs. There may be ads sometimes after your song but you have to purchase Spotify Premium to be able to listen to music without the ads. You are not able to listen to any song (even if you “Save” the song) offline unless you purchase Spotify Premium. Spotify Premium costs $10 per month. The user also has the option to choose music streaming quality. At normal quality one hour of playback will consume 50Mb of data. The data consumption will increase with better qualities.

2. Amazon Prime Music

Amazon Prime Music is a part of the service you get with the subscription of Amazon Prime. You get access to two million songs at no additional cost. Like Spotify, it gives you ad-free listening, unlimited plays, and offline access to the content. There are thousands of curated playlists and personalized streaming stations. It is a great perk for the prime members. But if you’re not a prime member then this, unfortunately, isn’t a service you can opt into. Amazon Prime Music isn’t a total wasteland. You can stream music from popular and not-so-popular artists, such as Bruno Mars and The Dirtbombs, respectively. Still, there are enough holes that you can tell that Prime Music is a limited version of Amazon Music Unlimited.

3. Apple Music

One may be surprised at how the great name of Apple is 3rd on the list. Apple Music comes with a clear and uncluttered design that a user can easily navigate. Although Spotify ranks top on music streaming, Apple Music has taken the United States music-loving audience by storm. Unlike Spotify, Apple Music only offers a limited free trial, and there’s no free tier. It gives you access to over 50 million songs and is packed with features like offline listening. The best thing is that it can combine all your music at one place-even song ripped from a CD.

Factors to consider while developing music streaming applications:

There are four main factors that you need to consider:

• Types
• Platform
• License
• Storage

Types of Music Streaming Applications:

It is essential that you should decide in advance what type of music streaming application you want to develop. We have ruled out the three major type of music streaming apps, among which you can choose.

1. Music Library: In this type, you will develop a server-based music library and will grant access to the customers. The customer would be able to stream the music within your conditions either free or by paid subscriptions. E.g. Spotify, or Apple music.

2. Cloud Storage: The users would be able to store their music on the cloud and then stream whenever & wherever they wish. E.g. AudioBox, or Groove music

3. Radio Stations: In the radio stations music streaming apps, there are various radio stations which are arranged by specific themes. The user can stream music on PC, mobile or home audio.

In this article, we would be focusing upon the type of Spotify app i.e. Music Library.

Platform

Currently, there are two major platforms among which you have to choose: iOS or Android. To decide platform, you need to focus upon your target audience. Which platform do they use most? Mostly, in a large demographic like India, both Android & iOS users are in abundance. Henceforth, you have to develop an app for both platforms. Even Apple Inc. developed Apple Music app for Android devices as well.

If you are on limited budget then definitely consider your target audience. In the US, most of the users are iOS users while the European market is full of Android users.

License

You can’t stream music on your application without obtaining a license for it. You have to purchase the license as the owner of your app. Also, you need to consult with the body of composers, authors, and publishers of your country or an authorization who deals with a license of music.

Spotify has two types of music license:

• Sound Recording License agreements to cover the rights to a particular record.
• Musical Composition License Agreements to cover the people who own the rights to the song.

If you don’t obtain a license, then you may have to pay the fine from at least $750 to $150,000 per song played.

Storage

Storing the data of thousands of songs is not an easy task. You should consult with the development team in advance regarding the data storage. You may require a cloud hosting server which can store the data such as AWS services.

How to develop a music streaming app: Features to consider

The features would be parted into two different categories: MVP & Advanced. MVP is minimum viable product. In this category, the features would be essential to serve the basic needs of the users. It is the best to approach to create an MVP version of your app, if it gets success then you should move to develop the advanced version of your app. In advanced category, you can include all the advanced features.

MVP app features

User Sign-Up or Login

The user onboarding process should be simplistic and user friendly. Initially, you can provide Sign-up through e-mail & password or contact no. & password. Later on, you can also integrate social media logins such as Login through Facebook, Google, LinkedIn or any other platform. Do not forget to implement Password Recovery Options.

Music Search

This is the foremost feature for users. The users should be able to find their favourite songs easily on the app. In MVP, you can provide the simple search but if your app gets success, then you have to provide advanced features in the search such as trending songs suggestions, autocorrect, etc.

Music Player

Obviously, while creating a music streaming app you need to implement a user-friendly music player. Users can create playlists of favourite songs, add albums, and mark artists as favourite.

Settings

User should be able to change the settings of the app such as preferences, music quality, audio settings, app settings. You can also implement sync feature for various devices.

Advanced Features

If your app gets successful and gets positive feedback from the users, then you may move to increase the features & functionalities of your app. Some of the advanced features are:

Push Notifications

Push Notifications have become a necessary feature for almost every mobile application. The push notifications remind the users about new trending songs, any update, subscription or offers. In simple words, it will advertise your app in a very sophisticated manner.

Social Sharing

Today’s generation is highly inclined towards social media. They want to even share what they are listening to. With the sharing feature, the user can share the songs they are listening to as status on social media.

Cloud Storage

The cloud service will enable the user to download their music for offline access.

Offline Download

The user should be able to download the songs to listen to them without an internet connection.

The cost of developing the app depends upon the time taken in implementing the features. Backend development will take nearly 150 hours, iOS app development 350 hours, and Android app development will take 360 hours.

Admin Panel: The admin would be able to manage all the activities from the backend.

Design: The design of your app is to have a deeper effect on the success of your app. You should create a highly captivating, and interactive UI/UX design of your app.

The admin panel & design can take 500–600 hours of app development.

Final Cost

The final price of the app can vary from $40,000 to -50,000. This price is when we are charging $25 per hour. If you go to the European market or other western countries the cost would increase exponentially.

Want to discuss the cost in detail? Inquire now.

How to make money through music streaming application

It is obvious to consider the monetization strategy after investing a huge amount in developing music streaming application. There are two most popular money making strategies:

Subscription

In the subscription model, the users have to subscribe to the app in order to stream the music. Of course, you must have to provide a trial so that the users can build trust in your app and become ready to pay for it. The best example is Spotify.

Advertisement

You can also get ads from different sponsors to showcase your app. The advertisements would be displayed on the app and the user would be able to see or click on it.

Wrapping Up

At Amplework, the best mobile application development company will give you the proper consultation, and quotes for your requirements. Discuss your requirements with us and we will come up with the best app at affordable rates.