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- Identifying With. Music is experienced as a language, expression, mental shortcut and visualisations that anchor and elucidate personal narratives and aspirations. Musical engagement derives meaning from sensing that music aligns to both tastes and personal aspirations. Listeners love artists who are central to a wider culture or a sub-genre and value unique stories. Non-musical engagement derives meaning from being able to aspire to the lifestyle the music or artist represents. They recognize desired archetypes and enjoy being able to identify with the wider lifestyle of the artist, including their fashion and values.When I was listening to [the new Beyoncé song], I also looked for the video, and it made that connection of the relationship that she has with her oldest daughter. So, it brought me to the like, oh, I kind of want to have that relationship with my kids… (Yasmin, 32)
- Remembering Moments. Music is experienced as a bridge to anchor memories, provide shared reference points, stories and exclusive tacit language. Musical engagement gives memories a musical significance. For example, listeners enjoy when their lives correspond to important milestones in the history of music or in the careers of their favourite artists. Non-musical engagement likes using music as a shortcut to one’s own personal memories. Listeners locate the meaning of music in their own memories of places, times and people and love sharing memories with others.It helps me remember the people that were in my life, so, Summer camp people were awesome. So, it transports me back to the feeling of safety and being part of something bigger than yourself… (Lilly, 33)
- Sharing With. Music is experienced as part of a shared experience and serves as a shared reference point. Musical engagement enjoys deepening their musical experience with people with similar tastes. They use shared vocabulary and enjoy a proof of shared niche tastes. Non-musical engagement derives meaning from music enabling them to deepen relationships through shared musical references. They use shared activities, such as cooking, or family trips as important cues and love to see a proof of others’ tastes and moods.Going to the concert was like nice because it was a bonding experience and we were there for kind of a longer amount of time, because I bought this Airbnb. And then we were just sort of together and it was like a special shared experience, and then just like music is tied into that.’ (Sylvia, 18)
- Adapting to Social Context. Music is experienced by creating a vibe while minimizing social friction. Musical engagement derives meaning from the alignment between one’s musical tastes and the social context. Listeners enjoy seeing a proof that other people have the same tastes and express enjoyment in a shared way. Non-musical engagement focuses on music being appropriate for the occasion. They locate meaning in social norms and enjoy seeing positive social responses.‘Sometimes we’ll listen to music like if we’re like entertaining or outside or the kids want to play in the yard or something like that, we’re able to drink a beer. We’ll listen like out on an outside speaker… Things like ’80s music, Billy Joel, like you can listen to that around anyone, kids, neighbors without worry about you know offending them… I think outside is more like Jack Johnson and not Drake radio because the neighbors can actually like hear the music so I put a genre here that’s more appropriate.’ (Max, 33)
- Being Moved. Music is experienced by changing the physical or emotional state. Musical engagement derives meaning form the alignment between one’s musical taste and the activity their doing or the state of the mind they’re in. They can explain why they feel moved using musical terms, e.g. specific tempo that gets them motivated, and they can select specific music they know will work for them. Music is integral to working out in the gym. I couldn’t workout without music. It’s motivating. It’s the equivalent of having like a couple of cups of coffee. I work harder when I’m listening to music, it’s motivational in a way… I like loud hip-hop music, a quick beat, aggressive lyrics… Yeah. It’s motivating and it pushes me more than I would push myself if I wasn’t listening to music…It’s motivating and if I didn’t have it, I’m not in charge of the gym.’ (Trevor, 34)Non-musical engagement derives meaning from music that is supportive of an activity and navigates music based on the type of activity or mood, e.g. searching for ‘a running playlist’
DESIGN / PRODUCT IMPLICATIONS
This framework provided a new language and a new foundation for the wider team to think beyond user needs. It also helped understand the role and importance of various types of tools and media that have been an important part of music industry but have not necessarily been successfully embraced by streaming services. For example, the framework explains why listeners who default to the non-musical type of engagement often prefer the radio or why they like YouTube. These services provide them with the cues and proof points they are looking for, such as popularity charts, imagery and comments from other listeners. The insights have enabled Spotify to critically reflect on the fact that the app was more suitable to listeners who default to the musical type of engagement and have given a useful direction for improvement.
The learnings and the framework had direct implications for product and design. The most straightforward application of the framework was for the user interface to use cues and proof points to locate and amplify meaning for the audiences who default to the non-musical type of engagement. For example, possible product interventions in the future could include personalized cover images and annotations.
For example, Yasmin, 32, who liked to listen to artists she could identify with, (e.g. with Beyoncé as a mother, or with P!nk as a strong woman who’s ‘her own boss’) might enjoy being introduced to Lizzo. Useful cues can include visuals celebrating Lizzo’s body positivity and a proof point might be a playlist that offers a gateway to discovering more artists who celebrate body positivity.
The research also helped identify new ways for recommender systems to forge meaning. Meaning is not fixed, it fluctuates depending on context and also changes with time. While meaning cannot be anticipated, we can still aim to optimize it by utilizing cues and proof points. Cues and proof points can help intensify existing connections and add more meaning to them by helping listeners connect to multiple experiences of meaning. For example, Yasmin might enjoy listening to a playlist that Beyoncés’s shared with her daughter.
ORGANISATIONAL IMPACT
The success of this project relied on the ability to scale the framework throughout the organization. This was a crucial part of the project from start to finish. Stripe Partners conducted multiple stakeholder interviews in order to understand the organizational context of the challenges but also to engage stakeholders in the project. We also used Slack to share interesting links and provide connection between all the researchers involved across all research streams.
At the end of the project, Spotify hosted a share out session with teams joining in person and remotely. We presented insights based on ethnographic evidence, stories from the field and videos from the diaries and used them as a basis for the final framework. The final session also included activation workshops to get participants to think of immediate takeaways and to apply the framework. The session included ‘office hours’ when anyone from the organization could learn more and discuss the project with the researchers. We created visually engaging outputs in form of posters and also did a video recording of the presentation for Spotify’s archive.
Within Spotify the learnings from the research has had a broad impact across multiple business units and has been internalized deeply into Spotify’s culture.
From an agency point of view, this project was relatively unique in the sense that we were engaging with the client’s stakeholders, teams and other researchers and experts from start to finish ensuring the insights and the framework were relevant and easy to understand. This has allowed us to understand the organization better and have conversations with people working on diverse challenges to help them think through potential implications for their areas and goals. Ultimately, this enabled our work to travel and develop new client relationships.
2020 EPIC Proceedings, ISSN 1559-8918, https://www.epicpeople.org/epic
REFERENCES CITED
Karpik, Lucien. 2010. Valuing the Unique: The Economics of Singularities. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Ulwick, Anthony W. 2016. Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice.