The Challenge
Design an improved Spotify experience for aspiring creators
As part of a product design exercise, I explored how Spotify could make content creation easier and more empowering for aspiring creators, individuals who have ideas, skills, or stories to share but face friction in getting started.
Problem Framing & Mission Alignment
Spotify's mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million artists the opportunity to live off their art, and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by it.
While Spotify has become the go-to platform for audio consumption, music, podcasts, and audiobooks, it still has a long way to go in helping new creators find their voice. Today, anyone can upload videos on YouTube or Reels, but starting a podcast or publishing audio content on Spotify still feels intimidating.
In an age where people express themselves through short-form content everywhere, Spotify has an opportunity to remove the friction of the first step and make audio creation accessible to everyone, not just professionals. This directly advances its mission to empower creative expression and sustain meaningful creator-listener ecosystems.
GOAL: Our goal is to empower aspiring creators by removing the first-mile friction of publishing audio content. By helping creators move from idea to recording to publishing in one seamless flow, Spotify can unlock new voices, diversify content, and strengthen the creator ecosystem aligned with its mission to unlock human creativity and connection.
Stakeholders
Aspiring Creators — Individuals with ideas or skills who want to start podcasting or sharing knowledge.
Professional Creators — Established podcasters, musicians, and educators already monetizing on Spotify.
Listeners — The audiences who consume content and validate creator success.
Spotify Internal Teams — Product, engineering, monetization, and marketing.
Advertisers and Partners — Who benefit from the growing creator economy.
Devices & Infrastructure — Phones, laptops, cars, headphones, and network connectivity that shape the listening experience.
Segmentation (Functional / Emotional / Social Needs)
| Segment | Functional | Emotional | Social |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Creators | Already accomplished, using art or expertise to earn and grow. | Motivated by validation and recognition. | Want to be seen as experts shaping culture. |
| Aspiring Creators | Have talent but lack guidance on formats, tools, and publishing. | Feel excited yet anxious, fear technical mistakes. | Want to appear serious, credible, and inspiring. |
| Disabled Creators | Need accessibility features to record and manage content independently. | Seek confidence, dignity, and creative inclusion. | Want to be seen as self-reliant contributors. |
| Child / Teen Creators | Want safe, easy ways to create and share within controlled boundaries. | Feel proud of early creativity. | Want to delight friends and family. |
Prioritization Criteria & Chosen Segment
Chosen Segment: Aspiring Creators Why?
1. TAM: Extremely large, millions of people with ideas but no easy on-ramp to Spotify.
2. Impact: Empowering this group creates a compounding flywheel of new voices, content diversity, and audience growth.
3. Mission Alignment: Perfectly aligned with Spotify's mission to "unlock human creativity."
By helping this group overcome the first-mile friction of publishing, Spotify can transform inspiration into action, keeping creators engaged for the long term.
Obstacles ("I hate it when…")
I don't know how to get started: what format to use, how to edit, or what length and quality are required.
My audio file is too long, too loud, or full of background noise, and I can't tell if it meets Spotify's standards.
I spend hours recording only to find my file corrupted or incompatible for upload.
I hate it when I'm excited to publish but feel lost without any guidance or feedback.
Chosen Obstacle
"I hate it when I don't know how to get started — what format to use, how to edit, or how to make my content engaging enough to be published."
This is the single most painful point for aspiring creators. It blocks them at the first step, kills momentum, and causes self-doubt.
For Spotify, solving this means reducing onboarding friction and empowering creators to move from idea to recording to publishing in one seamless flow and that is fully aligned with its mission to unlock creativity and connection.
Solutions (Brainstormed)
1. In-App Recording Studio
- Record directly in Spotify, with built-in guidance on length, loudness, clarity, and background noise. No need for extra tools, just record, preview, and publish.
2. Spotify QA Assistant
- An AI reviewer that evaluates your file and offers feedback ("Too loud", "Add intro music", "Consider trimming silence"), helping you improve before publishing.
3. AI-Powered Audio Enhancer
- Upload your raw file; Spotify automatically cleans sound, removes noise, balances tone, and makes it platform-ready.
Chosen Solution: In-App Recording Studio
I'd prioritize the In-App Recording Tool because it tackles the root friction which is starting to record.It directly helps creators overcome self-doubt and technical confusion.
- Impact: Turns creative intent into instant action.
- Mission Alignment: Helps anyone share their voice, no equipment or editing expertise required.
- Engagement: Keeps creators inside Spotify's ecosystem from the very first recording.
- Retention: Once creators associate their first success with Spotify, they're more likely to stay.
Trade-offs: Building a professional-grade recorder is complex (latency, compression, quality). Advanced creators may still prefer external tools, but that's an intentional trade-off to serve first-timers first.
Success Signals & Metrics
North Star Metric: % of new creators who record and publish their first episode within 7 days of signup.
Secondary Metrics:
- Adoption: % of new creators using the recording tool in Week 1.
- Engagement: # of episodes published through the tool in 30 days.
- Retention: % returning to record again within 30 days.
- NPS: >50% citing "ease of getting started."
Go-To-Market & Scaling Plan
Launch (0–6 months):
- Target new sign-ups with a "Record your first episode in 10 minutes" experience.
- Award a "First Published" badge and feature new creators on a Welcome Wall.
- Encourage sharing: auto-generate cards like "I just published my first podcast on Spotify!"
Grow (6–18 months):
- Partner with podcast communities and YouTube-to-Spotify conversion tools.
- Launch "New Voices" charts featuring top first-time creators.
- Offer small incentives like early monetization access or promotion credits.
Scale (18+ months):
- Expand to high-growth markets (India, Brazil, SEA).
- Integrate with analytics and monetization dashboards to build a full creator suite.
Closing Note
By solving the first-mile friction for aspiring creators, Spotify removes the biggest barrier between talent and opportunity. The in-app recording tool empowers anyone, from a student to a coach, to start creating instantly, without worrying about formats or audio quality. Every new episode recorded directly on Spotify strengthens the creator ecosystem, fuels engagement, and keeps Spotify the home of human creativity, where millions of voices connect, inspire, and grow together.