An Evaluation of Spotify’s UX
A great desktop interface, with not-so-great mobile formatting… This is a user experience nightmare. And a tale as old as internet time.
So, Spotify. What about it? In 2008, the music streaming platform officially launched, revolutionizing music thereafter. Additionally, audiobooks and podcasts entered the market in 2022 via the streaming service. Their monthly “Spotify Premium Individual” subscription-based model cleverly allows customers to pay $10.99 per month with the benefit of no audio ads getting in the way of their music-listening sessions. There are over 551 million users, including 220 million subscribers in 180+ markets around the world, designating itself as the most popular audio streaming subscription service.
For the record, Spotify has been a personal favorite of mine over the years. I started using it in the early 2010s, and it has remained consistent in my life, ever since my adolescent years. Even successfully converting me into a brand-loyal customer of their subscription model.
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the company’s desktop and mobile User Experience (UX). I will first examine their desktop layout, then their mobile interface, and finally do a comparison of both… Something like a Spotify UX Venn Diagram written out in essay format.
Spotify.com. Bam.
What do you see on your desktop computer when you click on this link? It leads directly to a web player. Now, don’t get me wrong, it gets to the point; however, my suggestion for the brand’s UX designers would be to change it by implementing a simple drop-down menu on the first landing page, immediately when the user lands on the website. This menu could include three main objectives/options. First, the actual Web Player. Next, another click-through option leading users to a landing page discussing the various subscription models (Individual, Duo, Family, and Student) with all types of different pricing. The third and final click-through text box could be all other relevant details, such as an ‘About’ page.
The automatic jump into the Web Player does not convey the fun and trendy brand personality Spotify inherently has. Instead, it reverts itself to a generic website made for its purpose. While it is not a terrible idea, Spotify could certainly elevate its website design by having clearer navigation tools to cater to each specific need a potentially interested customer could have. It is not quite user-centered, only directly leading to a ‘login’ and ‘sign-up’ button on the top right corner of the page. Frankly, I get overwhelmed seeing all the playlists, album covers, and artists on the page that is confronted upon me.
Oppositely, the mobile interface has a clearer navigation screen with a simpler sign-up/login screen.
The simplicity of use is relatively easy but does take a while to get used to. Navigating the interface of Spotify now requires the user’s profile page to be viewed in two different lights. Since this is predominantly encouraged to be used as an app on desktop computers and smartphones (iPhones), most of their best navigation, design, compatibility, aesthetics, and software friendliness are easy to use. It is best practice to use the applications on your phone or computer, but not on the internet, in my opinion.
Overall the Spotify app is uniquely designed and has a very original aesthetic compared to its rivals: iTunes, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Apple Music, YouTube Music, etc. While the concept of audio services and music streaming was not pioneered by Spotify, they did a great job adding something to the business.
Furthermore, the content quality of Spotify’s audio, visual images, and moving video are extremely high and smooth sailing from my perspective. They employ responsive design with minimal effort when double-clicking songs and albums by song artists. They have even employed a new feature of video podcasts on the platform as of late. An example of this is Emma Chamberlain’s podcast “Anything Goes”, which incorporates audio and video, letting the user decide if they want to watch her and her guests in person, or if they want to just listen to her thoughts on any said topic.
The ease of conversation can be something Spotify works on. Recently, as a loyal consumer myself, I have found that the platform has become increasingly complicated. Sometimes, less IS more. With all these new features and formatting, it can get difficult to navigate and find what I want, which is essentially just listening to my music! Playlists are scattered and the library of playlists can get intimidating if not put in one place that is easy to find through the app.
There has been no integration of AI in the Spotify app to my knowledge. Chatbots haven’t been implemented yet (phew!) but it will be interesting to see some new formations that will happen surrounding Generative AI in the Spotify application since the release of ChatGPT.
Ultimately, Spotify achieves its business objective by attracting hundreds of millions of people globally to purchase and make conversions in their app. They even notify people of concerts near them which may increase their internal revenue marginally as they get a percentage of the profit as a third-party app advertising for singer/songwriters/artists. All in all, Spotify’s UX is quite savvy and sleek-looking but there are definitely areas for improvement and opportunity for the tech company.
I hope this critique was enjoyable and I look forward to next week’s blog.
That’s all, folks! Happy listening.
