UW-Madisons' Product Case Competition
UW-Madisons' Product
Case Competition
Spotify Hives
Spotify Hives
Led a cross-functional team of designers and developers to develop a creator-first podcast community feature.
Led a cross-functional team of designers and developers to develop a creator-first podcast community feature.
/Timeline/
8 Weeks
/My Role/
Product & UX Lead
/Typography/
/Typography/
Avenir Next
/Tools/
/My Role/
Product & UX Lead
/Tools/
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The project spanned two sprints
In this product case competition, our 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.
Market Analysis
Conducted a comprehensive competitor assessment, focusing on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Music.
Apple Podcasts offers a strong ecosystem & large user base, but is limited in creator tools
& community features
YouTube Music offers video integration & comments, creator-friendly but primarily
music-focused
Conducted a comprehensive competitor assessment, focusing on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Music.
Apple Podcasts offers a strong ecosystem & large user-base, but is limited in creator tools and
community features
YouTube Music offers video integration & comments, creator-friendly but primarily
music-focused
Market Analysis
Conducted a comprehensive competitor assessment, focusing on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Music.
Apple Podcasts offers a strong ecosystem & large user base, but is 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.
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
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
Employed mixed-method approach: In-depth interviews with 5 podcasters, survey of 23 diverse listeners
Key Quantitative Insight: 57% of users find podcast recommendations only 'moderately accurate', indicating room for improvement
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
User Research
Employed mixed-method approach: In-depth interviews with 5 podcasters, survey of 23 diverse listeners
Key Quantitative Insight: 57% of users find podcast recommendations only 'moderately accurate', indicating room for improvement
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
User Research
Employed mixed-method approach: In-depth interviews with 5 podcasters, survey of 23 diverse listeners
Key Quantitative Insight: 57% of users find podcast recommendations only 'moderately accurate', indicating room for improvement
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
Concept Development
Spotify Hives: Conceptualized it as a multifaceted solution to foster community around podcast content
Feature Design
Developed a phased rollout strategy
Private Hives
Private Hives
Private Hives
Craft your inner circle by choosing select friends to join your exclusive audio hive.
Craft your inner circle by choosing select friends to join your exclusive audio hive.
Craft your inner circle by choosing select friends to join your exclusive audio hive.
Public Hives
Public Hives
Public Hives
Craft your inner circle by choosing select friends to join your exclusive audio hive.
Craft your inner circle by choosing select friends to join your exclusive audio hive.
Craft your inner circle by choosing select friends to join your exclusive audio hive.
Developed a phased rollout strategy
View other projects
Omkar Kapade
omkarkapade11@gmail.com
Copyright
2025 Omkar Kapade
Omkar Kapade
omkarkapade11@gmail.com
Copyright
2025 Omkar Kapade
Developed a phased rollout strategy
Implementation Resources & Timeline
We carefully considered the resource implications of the Spotify Hives project. Below is a breakdown of the roles involved and their estimated time allocations:
View other projects
Omkar Kapade
omkarkapade11@gmail.com
Copyright
2025 Omkar Kapade
Omkar Kapade
omkarkapade11@gmail.com
Copyright
2025 Omkar Kapade
View other projects
Omkar Kapade
omkarkapade11@gmail.com
Copyright
2025 Omkar Kapade