Spotify Podcasts: IA Redesign
Research Project for fun — Information Architecture, UX Design (Fall 2020)
Recently, I picked up a slight podcast obsession. I’ve determined an opportunity for Spotify to implement better exploring for similar podcasts to a user’s library. When navigating any genre in Spotify, users are presented cards that include an image and snippet of text describing the podcast. My favorite genre of podcasts is true-crime. I know that all of the podcasts in the true-crime genre are about true-crime, but without more information, the podcasts carry the same weight.
TL;DR: If creators could add tags to their episodes, users could sort through content quicker to find the type of podcast want to hear. Spotify is an excellent digital media service, but the podcast discovery features are comparatively feeble. Adding filters, tags, and hierarchy will allow users to browse content that suits their preferences and find their next podcast obsession.
background
As a user, I do not give all podcasts the same weight and would like to find more that fit my preferences. My favorite genre, true-crime, has a variety of podcasts where some are full series devoted to one case, and others tell one story per episode. In addition to the way podcasts are set up, they carry different styles. Some podcasts stick to the facts (Crime Junkie, Unresolved), while others make you laugh (My Favorite Murder, True Crime Obsessed), and some make you question everything (And That’s Why We Drink, Conspiracy Theories).
Months ago, I ran out of Crime Junkie content; the creators post a new episode on Mondays. I found out about similar podcasts through word of mouth and a Q&A from the creators of Crime Junkie. I tried using Spotify’s browsing feature and felt that not providing the styles and structure of podcasts did not allow me to determine if I would like it or not.
Somewhere in these frustrating months, Spotify released a new browsing section titled Top Podcasts. I thought it would reveal the order of the podcasts, but instead, it displays the cards of the top podcasts. Without a numerical hierarchy, there isn’t a digestible way to interpret the content.
There are more than 500,000 podcasts on Spotify (https://podcasters.spotify.com/blog/podcaster-wrapped-2019). This number is astonishing compared to the content shown to me in the browsing section. Spotify is missing filtering to allow listeners to reach podcasters based on their preferred style and popularity of other listeners.
Brainstorming
Before jumping to my solution, I remembered a lesson at a UX foundations boot camp: decide how to measure success before trying to solve the problem.
I want to solve two problems: Spotify doesn’t have filtered browsing to allow users to find tailored content, and without a hierarchy in Top Podcasts, there isn’t a digestible way to evaluate the content. Here’s how Spotify can measure success in the end: Spotify can compare the number of hours streamed for podcasts before and after implementation, determine if the average number of following podcasts increases per user, or speak to users with user research.
Solution-ing for Hierarchy
All podcast genres could use filtering at large to determine if a series is telling one story, many stories, or a mix of both.
Below is a brainstorm sketch of how I intended flow to run through this filtration method, followed by a polished version of the sketch.
Spotify currently displays rankings for the top charts and viral music by Country and across the globe. This feature allows users to see which songs are a hit in their area. Spotify’s competitor, Apple, also provides rankings for the most popular content. Apple provides not only music rankings, but also top albums, playlists, videos, and podcasts. With over half a million podcasts on Spotify, the current display, grouping of the top podcasts with no data, does not provide users the same type of exploring experience.
A redesign to provide rank might look like below
On the Podcast Charts page it will feature the rank of content, producer, and amount of weekly listeners, following a similar format to Spotify’s Top Charts organization.
Solution-ing for Filters
Another way Spotify could make their content more digestible is by introducing tags. Episodes tagged with sub-categories, such as facts, comedic relief, opinions, etc., which could apply to the many genres of podcasts, can provide a quick idea of what each episode covers. Imagine if a user could select Bon Appetit episodes by location tags and listen to head chefs discuss the background of their restaurants that are in the same area as the user.
Below is a brainstorming sketch to make sure the idea can apply to other podcast genres, followed by a polished version of the sketch.
These improvements will provide users better browsing capabilities, search efficiency, and data organization.
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