So many people enjoy listening to music at home, on the road, or on vacation. Not so long ago, we made up our own playlists with downloaded songs. Nowadays, people prefer online radio stations or their own cloud-based playlists. Therefore, there are a lot of startups looking for ways to create a music streaming app today.
In this article, we'll get to the bottom of the following and other important issues:
- How to develop a music service?
- How to design an Android or iOS music app?
- What does it take to make a music app?
- How much profit does a music streaming app make?
Successful Streaming of Music and Its Development Prospects
In recent years, the Internet has become fast and accessible almost everywhere, and the ability to listen to a great variety of music without downloading has been a convenient solution. People can save space on their devices, get access to new releases and different music tracks, share their favorite songs with each other, buy tickets to concerts, and communicate in the music streaming app.
Why Do Many Startups Build a Music Streaming App?
- Today, the average income from streaming music is already about $26/month per user, and there are millions of them;
- Experts predict that by 2023, the market for streaming music will grow to $10 billion;
- More than 60 million people are regular users of Apple Music, which is one of the industry leaders;
- The relatively young Spotify service has already gained more than 36% of the market, and its audience continues to grow.
Industry Leaders and Prospects
One of the most famous brands is Apple Music. Moreover, the developers have created an application not only for iOS but also for Android. It delivers a huge number of playlists, a user-friendly search, as well as several radio stations.
Another powerful tool is Pandora. It features high-quality sound and an extensive choice of settings. However, the most valuable thing in this product is the application called Rdio, which is a streaming radio station that has become widespread all over the world.
There are also other very interesting projects, one of which we will talk about below.
Spotify: a Success Story
Swedish music startup Spotify was launched in 2008 as a product where users could generate and edit their own playlists, share with friends in the app and on social media. At first, the small project had 1 million paid subscribers in 2011 and even more free users, who enjoyed the service and listened to ads.
These days, Spotify has more than 40 million paid subscribers worldwide, and many businessmen are thinking about how to set up a music streaming app and repeat the success of this product.
How to Create a Music Streaming App Like Spotify
Do you intend to develop your own music service? Then, you have to take certain aspects into account. These should be considered regardless of what ideas and features you decide to pursue.
Types of Music Streaming Services
To learn how to create a music app, you first have to realize what exactly you plan to develop:
- Music library. For this purpose, you need to design a music website where you will store a large number of different songs that you will make available to your clients for free or on a paid subscription basis;
- Cloud storage of music. In such a case, the developers will do their best to create a music streaming app, which will allow users to upload their own music to a server to listen to later;
- Online radio stations. You should figure out how to launch a music streaming service that will broadcast radio stations.
A License For Using Music Content
Before diving into the technical nuances of how to make a music streaming app, it's crucial to realize that there are ongoing license fees. Your listeners can get music content for free or for a small subscription fee, but it's up to you. The owner of such a tool should have a proper license, though.
In the U.S., you can get that permission from either of two agencies:
- American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP);
- Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI).
In Europe, the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC) provides similar licenses.
Without a permit, you run the risk of a fine of $750,000-$150,000 per one song.
A Unique Idea
Another important point you should understand is to have your own original concept. You can design a service that replicates, for example, Spotify. Basically, it's extremely difficult to come up with something revolutionary in this sphere. Nevertheless, you are to have a competitive advantage. Think about how you may stand out. Why will users prefer your project to existing products?
It can be a reasonable price, exclusive collections, radio broadcasts for certain regions, additional features, and more.
Things to Consider to Start a Music Streaming App
Now, let's talk about all the technical nuances you need to think about before you start working on your software. You have to select servers to store your data and decide which platform your product will run on.
Choosing a Data Storage
You will need powerful and reliable servers to support the application, store users' data, and stream music. When deciding how to create a music streaming service, you should keep in mind that your users will want to listen to their favorite songs without any delays or pauses, if their Internet connection allows it, of course.
Now imagine that you have chosen a server in the U.S., but your users are in China, for instance. To get around without delays, in this case, you have to involve servers located in different countries. Thus, it makes sense to opt for powerful servers from AWS, Google, Microsoft, etc.
In-house Libraries and/or Integration With Other Tools
To save on storage capacity while giving users the best possible experience, many applications stream music via Spotify or SoundCloud. These services provide API and SDK connections, but be sure to check the restrictions described in the terms of use of such tools beforehand. You can integrate APIs into your tool, which is advantageous and handy if you comply with the rules of cooperation.
Platform
Ideally, you need to develop a music streaming Android app and a similar solution for iOS. These are two of the world's most popular platforms for mobile devices. Nonetheless, sometimes, you have to choose because most startups have limited budgets.
In this case, it is best to think about which country you are going to start developing your project in. If you are focused on the USA, you should create an iOS application since there are more users of Apple devices in this country. If you are more interested in Europe, for similar reasons, start with an Android tool.
How to Make a Music Live Streaming App: Basic Features
Modern technology allows you to significantly cut the cost of application development, attract investors, and expand capabilities and the list of services. As such, the functionality of any information system is divided into two parts: MVP and advanced features.
MVP (minimum viable product) refers to a list of basic features that are essential for the software product to run and satisfy basic users' requirements. This way, you can release the first version with minimal costs and in a short time, attract investors by showing a ready-made solution, and gradually expand the functionality.
To develop a music streaming Android app or a similar product for iOS at the MVP level, you need the features as follows.
Registration & Authorization
There should be several options for registration:
- Via social networks;
- With an email and a password;
- With a phone and a password.
Furthermore, be sure to include the "Forget password" feature, it should be as simple and convenient as possible.
Music Search
When you learn how to create a music app, you need to pay special attention to the search. It has to be located in a prominent place, be intuitive, and allow you to look for the right track according to multiple settings:
- Artist;
- Title;
- Album;
- Recording studio;
- Genre.
You can also supplement additional details, such as having a specific user in the playlist or rating of the song.
Mandatory: Make a Music Player App
The music player is the most vital element of any music streaming service. It should be easy to use, have a sufficient number of sound, volume, track sequence, built-in search, and so on.
"My Music" Section
In this category, each user can save favorite songs, download them if the service allows them, upload their own records (if the service provides such a feature), make their own playlists, and share them with friends.
Personal Settings
Think about how to make a music app as handy as possible. Of course, this will require a personal settings section, where the user can change the font size, color scheme (at least switching the light and dark theme), customize the sound features, etc.
Cost of Developing a Music Streaming App
To make things easier, we recommend that you calculate the time spent by developers on each of the features in the MVP version.
Registration & Authorization
Backend development takes about 27 hours.
Moreover, you will need to build the application itself, which will be installed on the user's device. In this case, for both Android and iOS, it can take 38 hours.
Music Search
Backend development will take 24 hours. To create an application for any of the operating systems, it will require 51 hours.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you are going to design an application for both iOS and Android, these working hours will be calculated separately.
Music Player
To launch a music streaming app, you need to have your own player. But developers actively use built-in capabilities of operating systems. Hence, in this case, backend development will take only 10 hours.
On the other hand, the creation of the player itself — special, user-friendly, attractive — will require 69 or 70 hours for any of the operating systems.
My Music
This section is voluminous and requires considerable attention both on the server side and the admin panel, as well as on the application side itself.
Therefore, backend development takes 83 hours here. And development for iOS or Android will be about 140 hours.
Settings
When deciding how to create a music streaming app, the settings section is actually relatively standard. Thus, from the backend development and server side, the specialist will only need 11 hours.
On the mobile app side, the work involves more laborious efforts and 61 hours.
Live Streaming Music App for iOS or Android: Admin Panel
When planning your project, you should remember about the server part and a user-friendly admin panel. Your service should deliver fast data exchange, reliable data storage on the server, and easy management.
The admin panel will help:
- Get statistics and manage the product efficiently;
- Moderate users' actions, etc.;
- Work with labels;
- Manage playlists and subscriptions.
On average, it takes about 435 hours to handle the administrative part. But this period can be changed depending on the customer's needs. The more settings and features are to be implemented, the more time it will take.
How to Create a Music Streaming Web App and Make It Beautiful
User-friendly and stylish design is a critical part of the success of any software product. That is why it is imperative to pay special attention to the development of UI/UX design. It should be intuitive, convenient, straightforward, and, at the same time, classy and perfectly in line with the concept of your tool.
Since the user interfaces on iOS and Android devices are slightly different, the design should be created separately for each version.
Designers need at least 150 hours for one platform.
Total Time and Cost to Build a Music Streaming App
The final price of the app is usually based on the total development time. Above, we have described the stages that you should pay special attention to.
Summary Information About the Timeframes
- Creating an application (Building an MVP) — 514 hours;
- Development of the admin panel — 435 hours;
- UI/UX Design for iOS/Android — 150/150 hours;
- Server part (frameworks and libraries) — 82 hours;
- Frameworks and libraries for iOS/Android — 65/65 hours;
- Project management (project manager's work) — 225 hours;
- Testing and quality assurance (for one application) — 300 hours.
The total time it takes to develop an app for Android and iOS is 3,017 hours.
Final Cost
And now, when we know roughly how much development time we need, we can figure out the price of creating an application. As in any other IT sphere, the prices depend a lot on the region where the developers are located, as well as on the reputation and experience of the firm.
We have calculated the cost of the project based on the average price, and this is what we have got:
- America, Canada, and Australia — $307,700 ($100/hour);
- Western Europe — $270,530 ($90/hour);
- India and Eastern Europe — $150,850 ($50/hour).
The final cost depends on many factors, and only a developer can tell you that.
How to Develop a Music Streaming App: Technology and Team
To build any app, you need a team of specialists from different fields. Someone has to develop the interface, another person should deal with the server part, create the design, manage the project, test, and promote it. You need people who are able to bring your idea to life.
The team should include:
- Project Manager;
- Business Analyst;
- UI/UX Designer;
- Mobile App Developers (1-2 for Android and iOS);
- Backend Developers;
- QA Engineers.
Tech Stack: How to Create a Music App for iPhone and Android Devices
Depending on the application, you will need a significant stack of technology solutions. For app development, you require Swift (for iOS) and Kotlin (for Android). You also have to organize the functioning of databases, music streaming, and much more.
A rough list of the tools you need:
- Programming languages: Python, Java;
- Server: Ngnix;
- Frameworks: Hadoop, Apache, Storm, Hub Framework;
- Cloud storage: Amazon S3, Google BigQuery;
- CDN: Amazon CloudFront;
- Database: PostgreSQL, Cassandra;
- Tools: Bootstrap, Kafka, Google Analytics;
- DevOps: Docker, Datadog, TestFlight.
The stack options may be slightly different, depending largely on the requirements of the project.
How to Make a Live Music Streaming Android App Profitable
There are two models for monetizing music streaming apps: paid subscriptions and ads. In the first case, the user pays a certain amount each month, which gives them access to the services or premium features. In the second case, they have free access but see or hear ads in the app at times.
According to statistics, a large number of Android users are happy to use free versions of the apps, especially when the choice of products is very large. Therefore, a comprehensive approach to monetization is recommended here:
- Basic features are free but include advertising and some restrictions;
- Premium access without ads.
How to Make a Music Streaming App for iPhone: Monetization
Users of iOS devices are more interested in high-quality services and are willing to purchase a subscription for the sake of a decent product. Of course, there is also a noticeable percentage of fans of free apps. Nevertheless, if you are going to work with an audience with iPhones, pay special attention to quality. You can count on a significant part of the profits from subscriptions.
Wrapping Up
In this article, we have tried to figure out how to make a music live streaming Android app and a similar solution for iPhone. According to statistics, the need for quality software products in the music streaming industry continues to grow, and consequently, this area is very interesting for investment. Now, you understand what technology and experts you will need, what to pay attention to when building an application, what methods of monetization to use. The only thing we have left out is choosing a contracting company. You should consider the reviews, experience, portfolio, and pricing. Then, your product will be implemented on time and under favorable terms.
FAQ
How challenging is it to make a music streaming app?
A music streaming application is a complex software product that requires a professional team of specialists, reliable high-speed servers, an administrator section, and applications for users.
What does it take to make a music app?
You will need to choose the type of software product, the platform, rent servers for high-speed streaming, and get a license for streaming music. Besides, you will require a team of developers, investment, and patience. Complex projects cannot be created quickly.
How much does it cost to develop a music streaming app?
At the very least, the cost of the project exceeds $150,000, provided that the development will be done by specialists from India or Eastern Europe and the functionality of the software product will be minimal. In other cases, this amount may increase to $300,000 or more.
How much profit does a music streaming app make?
According to statistics, nowadays, music streaming apps generate about $26 a month per registered user, on average. The market leaders have millions of subscribers. However, of course, it all depends on the quality and popularity of the app, as well as a reasonable approach to pricing.
