AMAZON MUSIC "NOTES"
An Amazon Music points-based rewards hub driven by platform engagement and interactions. Retain and grow platform users through unique merch/ticket discounts via Amazon storefront integration.
ROLE
DURATION
4-week academic design sprint hosted by Amazon Music
TOOLS
Figma
TEAM
the problem
It's hard to be a music fan. A quick look at the Eras Tour shows the lengths fans will go to access their favorite artists. On the flip side, artists often don't feel the full extent of fan support when they rely on streaming. Some of the biggest industry problems include:
Unfair concert ticket & merch access/pricing
Limited engagement opportunities for fans
Poor artist comp by streaming services
The music streaming industry is far from perfect. What solutions could Amazon Music offer that's unique—something where other music streaming services might be limited?
our solution: "notes"
digging into research
We had our idea, but would users actually want this feature? Would it have any impact on swaying people like Spotify loyalists?
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
We created a survey and posted it on music forums
Questions included: what are the biggest problems fans face when purchasing concert tickets? Do they want to purchase artist merch/LPs/CDs? How comfortable do they feel participating in reward credit systems? What are their streaming habits?
Our survey collected 42 valid responses
SURVEY RESULTS
Fair/easy ticketing + rewards systems were highly valued
We found a strong correlation between those who've experienced difficulty accessing concert tickets or have bought merch and those who would use a music streaming app offering credits toward tickets or merch.
key question:
"Yes or no: I would use a music streaming service for credits or presale ticket access"
77%
of those who have experienced difficulty getting concert tickets said yes
71%
of those who have bought merch or would like to buy merch said yes
"It seems like concert tickets are becoming more and more competitive from a business standpoint to make money, and I think it's unfair to the fans who can't afford more expensive tickets and can't go." - Participant #3
"There seems to be an average sort of cost for merch...but it's sometimes ridiculous in my opinion. If it's good quality and from someone I love, I'll invest in it. It feels like it's overpriced." - Participant #1
"Most of the time, I’m already listening to music anyway, so why not take advantage of extra perks?” - Participant #4
"I’d love to buy many things, but how can you justify spending 100s of dollars? Even getting 10% off, people are much more likely to buy it. I fall into that psychology. I would use Amazon Music. I’m not getting anything out of Spotify right now, why would I care about paying a similar amount for a different platform?” - Participant #1
“If this app gives you rewards, it’s like a credit card. If that credit card gives some better rewards than another one, then I will choose that one over the other one.” - Participant #6
early development
We covered a lot of ground in developing Amazon Music Notes, from competitive audits, storefront audits, early product sketches, and information architecture..
COMPETITIVE AUDIT
What are competitors doing beyond music streaming?
In-app integration for event tickets and merch, fan-tailored rewards like presale ticket access, and promoting live events based on listening behavior were common in competitors.
EARLY SKETCHES
We had 2 weeks from sketches to the final design
Since it was a design sprint, we powered through the early concepts to make sure our ideas were solidified in advance of prototyping.
prototyping
2 weeks from start to finish meant designing and testing in record time. Despite this, we made sure not to sacrifice the quality of our designs (but maybe a few hours of sleep).
LO-FI WIREFRAMES
We jumped on sketching our potential design solutions
Our key pages, which would be the core of our flow, were designed first:
1. "My Notes" page (a rewards/offer redemption hub page)
2. Gift page (send notes to friends or artists)
3. Activity page (shows users how their behavior generated notes)
4. Main access point to the flow (the profile)
*The background gradient was expanded and darkened. Participants felt that it was hard to read white on the original gradient, and the black transition was abrupt.
*The "merch" suggested search topic was added. Participants were confused about what to search for and wanted to see more storefront language.
*The mid-fi version hid featured offers behind the nav bar, so participants didn't realize they could scroll. The spacing was adjusted to improve its visibility.
final design
Our design was built by referencing the Amazon Music design system. However, since this was a design sprint mentorship, we only received access to the base-level style guide. Our design was entirely original, aside from font and color choices.
ONBOARDING SCREENS
Customizing the rewards experience with onboarding
To illustrate some of the personalization aspects of our app feature, we built a few example screens of how an onboarding flow could introduce the experience to users.
NOTES HUB PAGE
The Notes hub page tabs: redeem, gift, and history
1. Redeem tab: has featured offers and shows, and other trending rewards. Unique rewards earned by platform activity include the Notes icon
2. Gift tab: transfer your notes to friends' accounts or buy merch related to their music listening history. Or, send them to your favorite artist to help support them (emerging artists are highlighted first since they'd benefit the most)
3. History tab: keep track on how you've earned or redeemed your notes
ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS
I designed custom activity highlights graphics in Figma
The visual design of Notes was one of my biggest team contributions. Activity Highlights serves to show users what made the biggest impact on their Notes earnings. These are found via the hub page.
I designed each shareable graphic to subtly reference their action: listening minutes (sound waves), top listener (heart), and purchases (LPs).
I used Amazon Music's gradients from their official design system for the card colors
*I spent a lot of time—more time than I thought I would in this lifetime—designing original Taylor Swift graphics
EXPERIENCE WALKTHROUGH
We designed interactions to mimic Amazon's storefront
Watching the video walkthrough gives the best impression of how Notes operates between Amazon Music and Amazon itself.
Press the play button to see walkthrough
the future of Notes
We covered a lot of ground in developing Amazon Music Notes, from competitive audits, storefront audits, early product sketches, and information architecture. But we were curious: how could Notes develop beyond this design sprint?
STAKEHOLDER BENEFITS
Amazon Music as a single-source music provider
Notes benefits both the consumer and the business: more platform usage earns Notes for the user while boosting business for Amazon. It gives a competitive edge over other streaming platforms since users are rewarded for their engagement.
#1
Incentivize user engagement with the platform through rewards
#2
Empowers fans of all economic backgrounds to support artists
#3
Integrates Amazon's existing storefront capabilities
#4
Creates new revenue streams for emerging artists
#5
Sets Amazon Music apart from other streaming platforms
QR Codes
Offer exclusive discounts or other promotions for Amazon Music users through QR codes posted at artist merch booths or in-person events
Notes Boosts
Nudge users to upgrade to premium subscriptions, support emerging or spotlighted artists, or engage during special offer periods in exchange for higher rates of Notes being earned
Reserved seating
Reserve premium seats for Amazon Music Notes users purchasing presale tickets as an additional reward for true fans, similar to credit card companies
