Music has been a part of our life for centuries. It is said to enhance human intelligence, mental health, social cohesion, and connectedness among people. In the year 2021 alone, the music industry generated a total global revenue of USD 28.8 billion and by 2026 the industry is expected to see a CAGR of 8.5% globally.
Apps like Spotify and Amazon Music have already turned this opportunity into a successful business. Currently, Spotify has 433 active monthly listeners, out of which 188 million are premium subscribers.
Looks impressive right?
If you are also looking to build a similar app like Spotify or Amazon Music this article is for you.
So, here is what we are going to discuss in this article:
- Why should you invest in a music streaming app like Spotify?
- How does a music streaming app work?
- What are the key features you must include in your MVP?
- How much it can cost you to build a music streaming app?
- How DhiWise Flutter Builder can help you?
Let’s look into each of them one by one.
Why should you invest in a music streaming app like Spotify?
People enjoy on-demand and easily accessible music, and mobile apps give them the most convenient way to browse and listen to their favorite songs anytime anywhere. So, building a music streaming application seems to bring a good profit to their owners.
But this doesn't give you a clear picture of what is going under the hood and why it's a good time to invest in the music streaming application.
Here are some of the facts and figures that will help you to get the right answer.
- In the year 2021, the shares of the UMG (Universal Music Group), the world’s biggest music company surges as much as 43%. It had listed at a valuation of USD 53 billion and it was the largest European listing in that year.
- In the same year, Warner Music Group Inc raised USD 1.9 billion in an upsized IPO valuing the company at USD 13 billion. Also, the company reported that the revenue generated from the music streaming services exceeded and nearly covered half of the digital sales.
- After 2008 (after the birth of Spotify), online streaming services brought a huge transformation by providing Music as-a-Services.
Moreover, subscription-based service providers can have recurring subscription revenue rather than one-time sales of physical record labels.
How does a Music Streaming app like Spotify and Apple Music work?
1. Spotify
Spotify is the best-known music streaming app in the market. The app is compatible with most modern devices that run on different operating systems such as Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It offers a range of curated music discovery services through its easy-to-use interface with an extensive catalog.
Here's is the list of a few features offered by Spotify
- Spotify offers a free version that is impressively robust.
- It easily connects to the wireless speakers and AV receiver, and also builds your playlist, and syncs it with offline listening.
- The app allows its users to follow artists and sends them alerts when they release new music.
- It has recently introduced Podcasts.
- Its subscription plans include Premium Mini Plans, Student plans, and Individual and Family plans.
2. Apple Music
Apple Music is the second most popular music streaming app, the app provides hi-res lossless, and spatial audio albums at minimum charges. Its friendly interface provides access to the 90 million tracks and is compatible with the Android and iOS operating systems. Also, it offers a ton of curated playlists composed by musicians.
However, the app lacks the robust sharing options available on Spotify. One of its unique features is it provides a digital locker to store your own library of songs.
Here are some of the other best features of the Apple Music app.
- It can be integrated with other Apple devices such as Apple HomePods, and Siri to easily control what you hear.
- Gives you Spatial hi-res music at minimum cost.
- Gives you a choice of music locker
- Helps you quickly find the music you want to hear with the help of human music experts and smart algorithms.
The key features you must include in your music streaming app MVP
If you are planning to build and launch an app like Spotify or Apple Music, it's critical to consider the following app features.
1. Secure and easy Sign Up / Login
Providing authentication through social media helps users quickly sign up or log in to the account without creating it manually by adding personal information.
2. Create playlist option
Users should be able to create a playlist of their choice from the available music list and also download and edit them to use in the offline mode. Providing a feature to group music helps users create a playlist easily.
3. Music Discovery
How will you keep your users engaged with the app?
One way to engage your users with the app is by personalizing the user account. Offering personalized content can give you a competitive advantage over other applications.
Spotify provides AI-based recommendations to its users with the help of its own discovery engine. So you can also build your recommendation model for users.
Integrating Music Streaming apps with social media applications like Facebook and WhatsApp allows them to share songs with their friends and highlight them on their social feeds.
5. Personal Music Library
With a music library, users can host or upload their tracks and create their own library. This feature is absent in Spotify but available in Apple Music. The feature lets users add and synchronize a certain amount of songs on their devices and in the app playlist.
6. Push Notifications
How will you keep your users updated with the latest music launch, podcasts, and uploads? Push notifications features give your app a direct engagement channel that helps to increase retention. It is a deciding feature, so the users must have their app downloaded and opt for the push notifications.
How much can it cost you to build a music streaming app?
Let’s move to the budget part, as you are building an app for music-as-a-service for the copyright content, you will need a license to provide your subscribers with legal audio content.
Besides licensing amount, building a music streaming app for a single platform can cost you around USD 40,000 to 55,000. So if you are making a native mobile application for Android and iOS it will cost you double the cost of building such an app.
This cost can be minimized by building a cross-platform app, for building it you can use technologies such as Flutter and Kotlin with Node.js or PHP as a backend.
The popularity of music streaming apps is going all the way to the moon. And if you think this is the right time to invest in the app DhiWise is here to help you.
Well, if you are wondering how here is the answer.
The LowCode NoCode programming platform aims to simplify most of the repetitive tasks in app development such as component identification, design-to-code conversion, API integration, and so on.
The platform supports a range of technologies for full-fledged web and mobile application development. And the Flutter Builder is one among them. And most importantly it provides prebuilt app templates and screen libraries for every use case.
For building a Music streaming application use Tune cast-Music streaming and Podcast App UI kit.
Now, let's find out how it helps you to build an app in no time and within the minimum cost.
DhiWise Flutter Builder Capabilities:
1. Converts your app design to Flutter code in minutes
Whether you have your app design ready or not DhiWise takes all your pain away by simplifying designer developer handoff. The platform quickly converts your app design in Figma, AdobeXd, or Sketch to Flutter code by identifying the design components with high accuracy.
2. Visual UI builder for app customization
The Visual UI builder in DhiWise lets you customize each and everything in the app UI, you can set up app navigation and other actions, set authentication, change the view, add permissions, add API integration, and more. Its smart code editor helps you easily make UI changes with real-time previews and UI changes.
3. A comprehensive source to build an app for Android and iOS
Flutter is a popular cross-platform app development technology and DhiWise amplifies its capabilities by empowering developers to build cross-platform apps using a single codebase.
The Firebase and Supabase integration features in DhiWise Flutter builder lets you connect your app with the real-time database within a few steps.
5. API manager
The platform takes API integration and customization to next level by allowing users to directly upload Postman collections, add new API and customize it freely all using a visual programming interface.
6. Git Integration
Its integration with GitHub and GitLab brings more convenience to the developers by allowing them to share code resources with secure accessibility.
Moreover, the app development platform gives its users complete code ownership for the generated code, so that it can be utilized in your favorite tool.
Then what are you waiting for?
Get ready to start building your Music streaming app today with DhiWise Flutter Builder, and sign up today!
