Euphony
Music streaming service: Free to Paid Conversion
The problem
Euphony is a music streaming service that launched its media product two years ago using a freemium model that has a mobile-web experience and mobile app. “Freemium” is widely used to give users access to a service and then provide enhanced services at a price. For streaming music service users, the premium version means ad-free music, unlimited skips, and the ability to download songs for offline listening.
The goal with this project was to design an experience that allows users to subscribe and pay a monthly fee for the premium product in the sign-up flow (for new users) and in the log-in flow (for returning users).
A major constraint of the project was to complete it in 90 hours. Research and design decisions were made in response to the compressed timeline.
My role
I was the sole designer on this project. I conducted research, created wireframes and designs, and did usability testing.
Research
Secondary research
I started by studying the user experience of media streaming industry leaders Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, and Calm. I also reviewed two academic research papers focused on motivations and influences on the premium purchase decision as well as industry articles.
Consider generational differences
Willingness to go premium may depend on age, where users 18- to 24-years old tend to think all content should be free to them and are more price-sensitive.
Free trial period
Longer free trial periods have become the norm for music streaming services (30 days versus seven days for video).
In-app purchase is a must
Taking the user out of the mobile app (to a separate website) to make the premium purchase is an unnecessary friction point and must be avoided.
Repeat the offer
A user must be exposed to an offer nine times in one month to encourage the purchase.
Product name and brand ID
To breathe life and personality into Euphony, I defined a logo and visual style for the product. I downloaded a UI kit to expedite the design process.
I built the Euphony logo around a musical note and is meant to be a celebration of music.
Brand Personality
Euphony is uniquely diverse, but somehow always familiar.
Brand Attributes
Bold, smart, hip.
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Color palette
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UI Kit
Experience
User flows
Next, I created two user flows to document the paths a new user and a returning user will take and the opportunities to present them with the “Unlock Premium” offer.
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New user flow
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Returning user flow
Wireframes
I developed wireframes to test initial hypotheses and understand the moments and motivations behind a user’s decision to unlock the premium service.
User testing
I conducted a round of usability on the wireframes with five testers (two were under age 25; three were over 30). Their feedback identified a few opportunities for improvement:
The user onboarding screens felt out of order. Genres should come first, then artists.
“Unlock Premium” is too in-your-face. “Make it there but not there.”
The premium feature set is about right.
Users didn’t understand what content they’d find in each home screen section based on their headers. The header names needed to be updated to make them less confusing.
Final Designs
Usability testing
With feedback from the wireframes, I next created the high-fidelity designs and did another round of usability testing with five testers (again, two were under age 25; three were over 30). The goal was to test the moments and motivations that trigger a user to pay for media and the appeal of the design aesthetic and app features.
Findings
Users love the side-by-side comparison of Free vs. Premium features; this should be used in the new user flow. Returning users responded positively to the banner at the top of the screen to “Try Euphony Premium free for 30 days”; everyone said they would unlock premium.
The monthly rate felt too high for most users; reducing to $9.99 or less would make the product comparable to competitors.
Users loved the app’s design aesthetic, specifically commenting on the ombre or gradient effect (even when they didn’t like the color).
Exclusive content isn’t a compelling premium feature; ad-free listening, unlimited skips, listen offline, and the 30-day free trial are.
Final designs
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Splash screen
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Sign up
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Genre preferences
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Artist preferences
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Unlock Premium offer
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New user home page
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Returning user home
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Music player
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Ad: after 30 minutes
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Ad: max skips reached
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Purchase success
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User profile
User feedback
Despite generational differences, music discovery is a priority
The younger users had a much higher tolerance for ads and were more price sensitive. Older users had strong negative feelings about ads and had a mental model for purchasing media (they had to go to a store to buy a CD or cassette). Even with these differences, everyone wants help discovering new music. Some wanted to see what others are listening to (“so I don’t miss out”) and others just wanted to get out of their music listening rut.
Be subtle but persistent
There’s a fine line between persistence and annoyance! Users wanted it to be easy to unlock premium when they were ready to but quickly got annoyed when presented with the offer too often.
Always give users a simple way to try before they buy
Except for one user who always signs up for the premium service, every user wanted to try out the Euphony before they unlocked premium. They wanted to understand and experience the value first.
Lessons
I took away a number of lessons from the Euphony project.
Always something to learn
When I set out on the project, based on the brief, I assumed there would be few variations on the way to deliver on it and few learnings from the design and testing process. Instead, users had a ton to say about where and how often the premium offer was shared and what would motivate them to “Go Premium.”
I am not my users
Half the tests were done with users under the age of 25, and I was reminded repeatedly that their patterns and motivations are different than those of older users (and me). It’s a great reminder to keep my own experiences and biases from creeping in to the design and testing process.
Even leaders can get it wrong
I was surprised to see some of the leading competitors didn’t offer the ability to do an in-app upgrade to premium. It’s good to remain critical as we look to industry leaders for the patterns and capabilities we want to incorporate into our designs.