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Omkar Kapade
omkarkapade11@gmail.com
Copyright
2024 Omkar Kapade
We carefully considered the resource implications of the Spotify Hives project. Below is a breakdown of the roles involved and their estimated time allocations:
Spotify Hives
Product Case Competition
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The project spanned two sprints
In this product case competition, our University of Wisconsin-Madison team chose to innovate for Spotify over Airbnb. As the Product & UX Lead, I steered our focus from enhancing the music experience to addressing podcast creator needs, aligning with Spotify's recent strategic shift.
Our solution, Spotify Hives, emerged from this pivot. It's designed to foster community around podcast content, empowering creators and engaging listeners. Hives represents our vision for a more interactive and creator-centric podcast ecosystem within Spotify's platform.
My KPI
Increase User Acquisition
Timeline
July 6 to August 31, 2024
My Role
Product Owner & UX Designer
Tools Employed
Market Analysis
Conducted comprehensive competitor assessment, focusing on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Music
Apple Podcasts offers a strong ecosystem & large user base, but limited in creator tools & community features
YouTube Music offers video integration & comments, creator-friendly but primarily music-focused
Recognized a significant market opportunity to develop creator-centric, interactive podcast features by leveraging Spotify's advanced AI capabilities and existing creator relationships.
WEEKS 1 & 2: DISCOVERY AND DEFINITION
Strategic Pivot
Recognized Spotify's increasing emphasis on podcast features and creator tools
Identified opportunity to differentiate by focusing on creator empowerment and listener engagement in the podcast space
Shifted focus from music-centric features to podcast-specific innovations
Aimed to address the growing demand for interactive and community-driven podcast experiences
User Research
Key Findings are as follows:
Creators seek improved audience interaction tools, face discoverability & feedback challenges and need community-building tools. Listeners struggle finding relevant podcasts, desire direct creator engagement & prefer community-driven experiences
Key Quantitative Insight: 57% of users find podcast recommendations only 'moderately accurate', indicating room for improvement
Employed mixed-method approach: In-depth interviews with 5 podcasters, survey of 23 diverse listeners
WEEKS 3 & 4: DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING
Feature Design
Private Hives
Craft your inner circle by choosing select friends to join your exclusive audio hive.
Public Hives
Craft your inner circle by choosing select friends to join your exclusive audio hive.
Implementation Resources & Timeline
Developed a phased rollout strategy
'How Might We' statement
Refined our key question: "How can we enable meaningful creator-listener interactions, enhance podcast discovery and engagement, and empower creators on the Spotify platform?"
Spotify Hives: Conceptualized it as a multifaceted solution to foster community around podcast content
Concept Development