Xperience! A start-up initiative.

During this semester on AD and PR Lab of Panteion University and to be more specific, the Start Up innovation lab, we were asked a main question. What is the big music bet? What is something missing from the music industry? A new development that can change the industry all over the world, while also focusing on the needs of the Greek market.

This is how the Xperience journey began.

Firstly, let’s start by how the idea came about.

As in every team thinking process, it all began with brainstorming. We searched for ideas, thoughts of our own and concerns people have stated about the music industry from time to time.

Xperience, as the name states, is about a feeling, a happening and not simply a service. It is about providing to our audience the ability to connect with their favorite artists. Especially, for greek music fans and audiences from other countries, who don’t get the opportunity to see their favorite artists. Most of this audience, might see some big names once or if lucky twice. However, even this is a possibility. Big artists scheduale performances in our country rarely, meaning the cost gets bigger, due to the value added.

This is the problem Xperience aims to solve. Becoming the bridge between artists and audiences who can’t physically attend their concerts. A platform for fans of those countries to feel seen, close this existing gap.

After finding, our focus. The research began and we found a platform close to our idea; a Korean website named V-Live.

V LIVE

Is a South Korean live video streaming service that allows Korean-based celebrities to broadcast live videos on the internet and live chat with fans from around the globe. Streaming is available online or on Android and iOS mobile devices, with replays formerly available on PC.

In early August 2015, Naver Corporation released the live streaming app, V Live. The app was aimed at reaching international fan bases, particularly those in Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Therefore, there were no region restrictions and the website had a variety of language options, such as English, Chinese and Japanese.

According to Sensor Tower, the application had 200,000 downloads and earned $600,000 in Aug 2017; by May 2018, the V Live app had over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store and iTunes.

V LIVE+ (PLUS)

V LIVE+ refers to paid content types that offer unreleased, downloadable and fan catered content. V LIVE+ content can be purchased with V coins, which roughly amount to 50 for US$1, or redeemed using a code presented with an external purchase, such as an album.

CH+ (Channel+)

Some idols also offer CH+, a premium channel that can only be accessed with a subscription. CH+ channels can be purchased with V coins on a 30-day, 3 month, 6 month or yearly basis. CH+ channels differ from regular channels in that they provide hidden broadcasts, videos and posts.

Also, there are features like;

V Fansubs

V Fansubs refers to the subtitling service that allows users to submit their own foreign-language subtitle translations for V Live videos. These subtitles are reviewed by a team from V Fansubs before they are uploaded onto V Live. This subtitling feature has been a significant aspect of V Live’s growth, attracting a large international fanbase outside of South Korea.

CHEMI-BEAT (Chemibeat)

CHEMI-BEAT refers to the level of “chemistry and beat” a user has with a certain channel. This corresponds to the amounts of interaction a user has with a certain channel. There are seven levels of CHEMI-BEAT which a user can obtain. In additional, all users of each channel are ranked based on their CHEMI-BEAT. These ranks are updated daily and the TOP 100 users are displayed on each channel’s home page.

Then, the Design Thinking process began.

We Emphathised with the music audience. Gathered a focus group of five people and asked them how they feel about the music industry. Was there something missing, how do they feel about experiencing a concert, what is the cost of most concerts they visit and how much money were they willing to spend on a concert. Lastly, how they feel about online streaming

That’s when we explained our idea. After gathering a positive reaction, we gather insights and moved to the next stage.

Defining.

We used Strategyzer and created two personas. A boy named George and a girl named Nina.

This is when we came to the Ideate stage.

While brainstorming about how we imagined this idea becoming a reality, we used the ‘Yes and’ method. We should have livestreaming services. Yes and

1. Articles about the artists
2. A merch store where they can buy the merch existing in concerts
3. Later on, add full online experience feature by using virtual reality glasses

But, we needed to expand the people this idea would attract. We examined this more and came up with more personas;

• Sofia : 20 year old ,single ,student ,works part time​
• Nikole : 14year old ,single, student, pocket money , protective parents​
• Thanasis : 40+ , family man , music lover , music shop owner , wants to be up-to-date​
• Beyoncé : Famous singer , wants to promote her new movie and upcoming concerts ​

While having all these ideas on our minds, we created our prototype.

The Xperience website is mainly focused on the mobile and desktop vertion. Of course, after creating a strong fanbase, our app will be on the front line as well.

Our website includes: a store for artists’ merch, blogs, upcoming events, existing artists’ channels, the membership option and all our business information. We chose a minimalistic and clear design, as the content varies.

Home | Experience

And the same existing features apply to the Xperience app.

We showed this prototype to 4 people representing different potential buyers from our focus group and asked for feedback.

Given our feedback, we created a membership, focused more on international artists and created special prises on some merch offered. In addition to that, we will be collaborating with platforms selling physical concert tickets, so that people can view the live-streaming price as well.

But all those are theoretical! How will we gain our first 100 users? With 4 easy, but consistent steps:

1. We will be offering a free trial in the premium services, 30 days longer than usual at the first 100 customers​
2. After the free trial, when finally purchasing premium features there will be a discount of 20%
3. Schedualing a exclusive online concert for our first 100 customers​
4. Advertising ourselves​
5. Speaking about our start-up to our friends , families ,events. Networking is key!

With those in mind, the Xperience journey continuous.

Xperience Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Xperience-663813627390708/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Xperience Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/xperienceofficial_/?fbclid=IwAR0-jUa-zcs2IUoAtKrNFyZeRpsTQ-bvFN9x4RAX-NBTAr6t1On3A17vSNA

Xperience is a Start Up project by

Eva Vasiou , Marianna Menegatou ,Konstantina, Amelia K. , Dikibo Kwnstantina

This is an article about our journey from the brainstorming stage to prototyping our Start Up idea and finally presenting it.

Prof. Betty Tsakarestou, Domnika Skreta