Spotify Genre Categorization Game

Project Overview

This case study overviews on how I created an in-app gamification experience that allows users to teach the Spotify algorithm how to categorize songs across African music genres.

My Role
Product Designer
UX Researcher
Interaction Designer
Scope of Work
UI & UX Design
Interactive Prototypes
Duration
2 Weeks

About The Client

Spotify is the world’s largest music streaming service provider, with over 365 million monthly active users, including 165 million paying subscribers, as of June 2021. Spotify provides access to over 70million songs, 2.2million podcasts and 4billion playlists.

Brief
Spotify wants to understand what the most popular African music genres and subgenres are within Nigeria.
Project Objectives
‍
1. Identify and define these music genres
2. Create an in-app experience that allows users to teach the Spotify algorithm how to categorize songs across each genre.
Research Methodologies
Secondary Research
- App Audit
- Search Engines
Primary Research
- User Interview
- Competitive Analysis
Usability Testing
- Virtual 1:1 Sessions
Secondary Research
The first project objective was to identify the most popular African genres within Nigeria. I employed different methods to come up with an accurate or at least, nearly accurate list.
App Audit
I started with secondary research by conducting an analysis to see how African songs and genres were categorized on the Spotify app. Here are some findings from the analysis.
From the audit, I was able to diagnose that Spotify's categorization of African music genres was almost inexistent, and songs were mostly categorized in playlists. This led me to the second part of my secondary research.
External Search
‍I continued with my research by using Google to find out about the most popular African genres. Results gotten were similar in different orders.
Primary Research
I prepared a user recruitment plan and interview questionnaire alongside four other colleagues, then we proceeded to conducting user interviews with 10 users that fit into our ideal candidate profile.
User's Quote
"I don’t know African music genres, I only know that I listen to African music."
- Janet
Pattern Matching x Research Insights
-Users mostly listen to music according to their mood or activity
‍
-Users don’t know or care much about genres
‍
-YouTube Music is the major competitor
‍
-Spotify isn’t easy to understand during first use
‍
-They know some genres but can’t accurately categorize songs under them
‍
-Spotify has a wider range of music

Competitive Analysis

I decided to look into YouTube Music to see what made some users speak so highly of the app's categorization and recommendations. Here's what I found.

Problem Statement

Our target audience (Nigerians) have some awareness on the most popular African genres, but are unable to accurately categorize most African songs into their appropriate genres.

How Might We (HMW)

How might we help users learn how to differentiate between African music genres, so they might be able to accurately teach the Spotify algorithm how to categorize songs across each genre for them?

User Persona

After coming up with a HMW and problem statement to help move the project forward, I went on to craft a user persona so I can make better design decisions based on my target audience which has been narrowed down.

Lo-Fi Wireframe

1. In-App Tips

Recall the first part of our problem statement? - "How might we help users learn how to differentiate between African music genres, so they might be able to accurately teach the Spotify algorithm how to categorize songs across each genre for them?" So I created an approach to achieve this goal by teaching users about African music genres.

Usability Testing - Phase 1

I designed the wireframes to look like mid-fidelity wireframes, so users would be able to understand the context more and not just stare at boxes and circles during testing. Then I proceeded to prepare and ready the low-fi prototype for testing with Spotify users on a virtual video call.
Quotes
"I would honestly ignore the card in a real-life scenario, because I feel it’d lead me to other questions."
‍
- Nancy
I hope the AI affected will be just for my feed alone, incase I'm not right about the genre

- Jamar

User Pattern X Research Insights

-The card isn’t noticeable and is hidden away
-Users think Spotify is just trying to test their knowledge with the questions
-Most people scan, than read through tips
-Users want to receive before giving, which means offering them an incentive

Iterations X High-Fidelity Mockup

I followed user pain-points from the affinity mapping derived from the testing and iterated before converting the wireframes to high-fidelity mockups.
After I had converted the iterations to high-fidelity designs, I wasn't satisfied. Users were okay with the new solution but they weren't ecstatic, and that was the emotion I was going for.

‍I wanted a solution that users would look forward to, not something that would bore them and which they'd most likely skip, so I decided to think outside the box.

Introducing :
Spotify African Genre Categorization Game

The idea for a game randomly came a few hours later when I decided to take a break from my PC and hangout with a few friends. You can imagine the elation that came with the idea, but there was one problem.

I didn't know how I would put together a game that would be able to teach users about African music genres, then help them teach the Spotify algorithm how to categorize songs across genres. So I decided to brainstorm and carry out some researches on what was feasible and what wasn't feasible as regards to designing and building for algorithms. The viable solution I came up with works as follows:
Game Notification Modal
When the user logs into their Spotify app, a modal comes up after a few seconds, catching the users attention with the interactions, and informing them about the game - "Play & Earn Points". It also houses texts and interactions that hints the user on what the game entails.

The CTA "LET'S GO!" is designed with the intention of being catchy and to evoke a feeling of excitement in the user.

How to play

This screen is transitioned in after the user clicks on the CTA on the modal. The screen contains information on how to play the game and an interactive design that shows that the user is to drag the music art and drop it on the genre it belongs to.

There is also a primary CTA to get started into the game.
The Genre Categorization Game
The user is taken into game mode after clicking the CTA on the How To Play screen. Here, the user drags and drops each music art on the African genre they think it belongs to. The number of genre they're asked to answer is shown in the slider, and there is an arrow button, which represents "skip" incase the user can't answer the current one and wants to move on to the next.I used a fun and exciting sound as the background sound to make users feel more comfortable and also feel like they're playing a real game.
Game Score / How the points are calcluated
Users are assigned songs according to their playlists. They aren't asked songs they don't play often - remember, users are more likely to accurately categorize songs they like and listen to often. This way, songs in each users' categorization game can differ greatly.The African genre for each song is finalized according to the most selected genre. For example, if 80 Nigerian Spotify users had the song "Essence by Tems and Wizkid" in their genre categorization game, and 56 of these users selected Afrobeat as the correct genre, while the remaining 24 user votes were distributed among the other three genres, Afrobeat would be the correct and final genre, and the users who selected Afrobeat would be assigned 10 points each.Each user gets their points summed up at the end of the game, and they stand a chance to win more points in order to get 15% discount on their next Spotify premium subscription.
Usability Testing - Phase 2 - Final
I made the final iterations and proceeded to testing the high-fidelity prototype with new participants. Here are the insights.
Users' Quotes
"The game boils down to if I'm with my phone at the time but if I see a game notification to play a game and earn 15% discount on my next subscription, I’m definitely playing that game."
‍
- Abdul Azeez
"This game is really fun and insightful. At least now I can proudly say that King Sunny Ade is a Juju musician."
‍
- Janet
User Pattern X Research Insights
-Most users listen to music from the background
-They really love the idea of playing a game and getting incentives
-Fun facts can be easily missed
-Spotify isn’t easy to understand during first use
-Users still think Spotify is trying to test their knowledge
Final Iterations
Background Game Notifications
Users get notified via their notification panel anytime the game comes on, which could be anytime between every 2-4 weeks (this way, business and user goals are in alignment and also achieved.).With this method, we're also able to get to users who listen to music while doing other activities off or on their phone..
Fun fact Notification Panel
I also decided to include the fun facts as part of notifications that users get in their notification panel. With this feature, users are able to learn more about music, and this can in turn, contribute to the way they select genres in the categorization game.
Islamic Music Genre and Categorization
This is a quote from another participant. It was pretty difficult to find Muslim songs and playlists, and I realized it was an idea that has to be looked into and improved on Spotify moving forward. So I decided to design a few screens, just to show how they could be displayed and categorized.
Reflection
Working on this project, I learnt a lot about how really diversified users can be. While we are majorly focused on giving them the best experience, we have to be able to cater to their different needs while also making sure we're aligned with business goals.
‍
Also, the game changer (pun intended) can be just a stroll or literally any relaxation activity away. I also saw the real value in team work. Most times, you really can't do it all by yourself. Getting opinions from different people and brainstorming with people your creative brain look up to is the ultimate game changer.
I do hope you enjoyed every part of this read as much as I did writing it.
Interested in playing the genre categorization game prototype Click here

Want us to work together?

Please get in touch by tapping on my email address below!

My Social Media Accounts
linkedinTwitterInstagram
Built by Oluwaseun Alao