Radio app development is a wonderful opportunity to create something pleasant and get a source of income at the same time. That's what Pandora radio owners did: they’ve developed a service that has been pleasing all devotees of music for many years. Main Pandora’s competitive edge is that the system independently compiles a unique radio station for every user, focusing on approving or disapproving ratings of a particular track.
Obviously, Pandora owners offered a really great solution, and now they’re taking the plums. More than a million songs, hundreds of thousands of different artists and albums, a chance to create up a lot of your own radio stations - that's an incomplete list of features making the service the best of the best.
But what is Pandora radio and how to build it? And, of course, when did Pandora radio start? We know the answers and would be happy to share our expertise with you.
After reading our article, you’ll learn not only how and why Pandora has reached so high popularity - you’ll also get an idea of how to follow its lead.
Besides, we're going to tell you in detail about our own experience regarding radio station app development.
Why do people need music apps like Pandora?
Okay, let's begin our detailed discussion of how to make a radio app.
We should start with a simple question: is there a demand? Of course, in our day we can find an almost endless number of ways to listen to music: not only the old familiar methods of enjoying your favorite songs but also totally new ones - those which are using the latest technologies. However, most people like to control the situation by managing each detail of the process of listening to music tracks. And these people are our target audience.
By creating a Pandora clone, we provide a user with the possibility to feel his power, because he does not just make up common playlists, he creates his own radio stations! It cannot fail to impress, which means you have every chance of attracting as many users to your service as possible.
By the by, to retry someone else's lucky experience, you first need to explore how this "someone else", that is - Pandora app, has managed to achieve such a raving success… let's get down to the issue.
What is the Pandora app?
What is the Pandora service's main secret? The answer is clear: Pandora fulfills our dream - the one which relates to music. In the end, our favorite tunes are accompanying us all the time, embellishing our weekdays. And Pandora's digital radio app managed to offer almost the best way to listen to music, thereby becoming the market leader. And you should do the same if you want to join the ranks of top programs of the sort.
When was the last time you had fallen in love with a specific song? Developers of Pandora Radio are familiar with the feeling when enjoying the enchanting sounds make you creep all over. Guided by the idea of the absolute uniqueness of musical preferences, Music Genom Project was created, and within this project, careful research of perception of music on more than 450 parameters had been conducted for almost 10 years.
As a result of such an in-depth and comprehensive study, a methodology was developed aimed to compile personalized playlists. And now the main Pandora advantage which distinguishes it from many other music services is the fact that listeners are allowed to create their own "stations" where only those songs they like sound. It’s quite a smart approach, isn’t it? Think about your ways to attract the user's attention and interest your customer... this is really important if you want to understand how to build a radio app of the top level.
Today Pandora company occupies a worthy position in the streaming radio market. Such success is well deserved, given Pandora managed to please people with the music they really love!
The remarkable thing is that the beginning of the story wasn't completely unclouded or promising. On the contrary, it all started with commercial failure…
We guess you should know more: these details would help you create your own radio station app like Pandora without making the same mistake.
Okay, when was Pandora radio created?
Pandora radio history, or The story with a happy ending
In the distant 2000, Tim Vestergren working with a small group of entrepreneurs launched the Music Genome Project. His primary idea was simple and beautiful: to reduce each song to its music components in order to be able to automatically select other tracks similar to this one.
The first thing to be done to accomplish such a task was to "crack the genome" of the musical composition and discover certain elements in it, such as tonality, tempo, tool selection, etc. Having a sufficient set of parameters, the researchers began working on an algorithm which would allow searching for songs with identical characteristics. In addition, professional musicians were hired, whose task was to listen to each song and describe it with the help of 450 pre-determined attributes.
At that time, Tim Westergren didn’t wonder about how to make a radio app. Instead, he tried to sell the developed scheme of music recommendations to other companies. Alas, his idea didn’t arouse any interest. Therefore, he had to independently seek a good way of applying the built technology.
In 2005, he co-founded Pandora, a streaming online radio which uses the Music Genome Project to automatically create custom playlists. So we may safely say that it was he who made Pandora radio (or rather, he was one of those involved in the creation process)
Today, Pandora's audience is about 72 million active listeners.
In general, Pandora's achievements are really impressive: from the moment of entering the public market in 2010, the company's capitalization has grown from a negative figure to more than $ 500 million.
Today, Pandora is one of the most popular music streaming applications in the US. Previously, the service was also available in Australia and New Zealand, but on July 31, 2017, the company decided to stop working in these countries and focus on the American audience. And if you really to get a Pandora music radio clone, you had better follow such reasonable prudence: instead of trying to wrestle with the big picture, you should act more wisely, step by step.
Let’s summarize! What is the secret of Pandora's financial success?
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A unique approach to the old problem. The creators of the service didn’t move in a rut, they managed to find new ways and therefore succeeded.
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The ability to listen to the wishes of the user. The user is the person who brings you profit (regardless of the monetization method you choose). Consequently, a successful application is one, which fulfills a dream to the user. Pandora does this with its Music Genome Project.
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Dexterity in turning failure into success. Success doesn’t always come at once, and Pandora's example proves it once again. The app owners must be familiar with the statement by Winston Churchill who used to say: "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm"
How does Pandora offline/online work?
Now you know who created Pandora radio, but the question remains: is Pandora radio good? To answer it, we must carefully consider the principle of operation of this service.
As you probably understand, Pandora isn’t just another mobile application, Pandora is a personal radio station tuned to the tastes of each user. It is enough to enter the name of one of your favorite compositions, and the magic Pandora box will form for you a personal radio station with the best songs broadcasting (the ones which match your choice). Isn’t it a great idea? You should appreciate it if you have already been thinking about radio station app development.
But how does Pandora manage to embody such a wonderful idea? The fact is that Pandora is carefully collecting all possible information about user habits. Its algorithm takes into account every user's action, whether it's flipping through a playlist or skipping a song.
In addition, the user can vote for (or against) the sounding song: the Pandora database stores more than 22 billion votes of the sort. Of course, the creation of such technology requires effort and cost, but they pay off more than anything! So if you want to develop a radio app like Pandora, get ready to work hard. The game is worth the candle.
Using its unique algorithm, Pandora quite successfully predicts the preferences and tastes of even new users.
So, now let's consider the user flow - analyze it in order to develop one of your own when you'll decide to create a Pandora online radio app clone.
Interaction with the user flow
Imagine a user who wants to listen to music with the help of Pandora service. What is the algorithm of his actions?
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Download the Pandora application. It’s very easy, just visit iTunes or Google Play.
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Create your account. This is a very important stepб which allows the Pandora app to offer you music that matches your individual tastes.
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Create your custom radio station. It's quite simple: enter the name of the artist or band whose songs you like using the text field "Create station". Pandora will offer you what you're willing to find. It’ll be the beginning, the foundation of the future radio station broadcasting tracks you really enjoy.
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Mark which songs you do or do not like. Pandora’s goal is to offer you exactly those songs which will satisfy your musical needs. However, the service won’t be able to implement this aim without your participation. To help the application, use the "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down" buttons to mark the tracks you like (Thumbs Up) or dislike (Thumbs Down).
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Increase the list of artists and songs on your radio station. Do you see 3 dots near your custom radio station in the list of stations on the left side of the app screen? Tap these dots to unlock your station menu and choose the option named "Add Variety" in order to add a new singer, band, or music that matches your taste preferences.
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Create new stations. A single station is unlikely to satisfy all your musical requests. Therefore, make several radio stations, distinguishing them by music genre, artists, or other parameters meaningful to you. You can use the "More Recommendations" button which will give you advice based on the nature of your radio stations.
As you can see, the Pandora application has thought through the user flow and taken into account all the details in order to make the process of interaction between music listeners and its service as convenient and enjoyable as possible. Use such experience when you'll be figuring out how to build a radio app of the same sort.
What should you consider when developing your user's flow?
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The identity of the visual language. It all depends on whether you have other applications somehow related to this one. Say, Apple Music and Google Music should be visually consistent with other services of their platforms, whereas Spotify has no reason to be guided by the design of other mobile programs.
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Simple navigation system. Navigation should be as comprehensible and clear to even the casual user as possible. And don’t forget about the search bar!
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Easy access to the main buttons (play/pause, rewind the song, etc.). The listener should feel comfortable using your music service in any condition.
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The minimum number of taps: the fewer actions a user must perform to get what he wants, the better.
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Multi-Languages. Although you can start your app with only one available language (English or any other), but, conquering the territory, you should supplement the language panel with new options.
And now we’ll discuss the most exciting and burning issue: how can one make money on apps like Pandora? After all, that's the reason why we actually started thinking about radio app development, right?
How does Pandora monetize?
The bulk of revenues (about 80%) are receipts from sound and banner advertising targeted at users of the free Pandora service. The other 20% is membership fees of paid service users where advertising is not available. And it brings really impressive incomes, as the statistics show!
And although the income of Pandora, obtained through paid subscriptions, is less than 50%, such an amount is still sizeable.
Pandora radio for mobile platforms offers two subscription formats:
Pandora Plus™ ( $4.99 per month)
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no ads
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limitless personalized stations
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up to 4 stations for offline listening
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limitless skips and replays
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higher audio quality
Pandora Premium™ ($12.99 per month)
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no advertising
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looking for and listening to favorite tracks and albums on-demand
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creating playlists, not worklists - on your own or powered by Pandora
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downloading the desired music for offline listening
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limitless skips and replays
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high audio quality
So, in order to create your own Pandora radio for business purposes (namely, in order to build an app and get your profit), you should:
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attract advertisers;
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connect to Google's AdMob system, which offers an effective platform for monetizing mobile applications;
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offer built-in purchases;
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think about what paid features you can provide your users with.
It makes sense to look at competitors and use some of their ideas (the best ones!) to improve your business model. Good news: we’ve already done most of this work, and you just need to analyze the data we provided.
Competitors of the Pandora music service
Of course, the Pandora service has its competitors. And since you’re interested in the question of how to build a radio app, these companies can be dangerous to you too… as the saying goes, to be ahead of your competitors, you should know them!
Apple Music
Apple Music provides access to millions of songs, specially selected radio stations, and playlists, as well as music recommendations. By subscribing to Apple Music, the user gets access to the whole world of music: from the Apple Music catalog and his own collection. With Apple Music and the iCloud Media Library, you can access all of your music from any device if you’re logged in with the same Apple ID and if the iCloud library is enabled.
TuneIn
TuneIn is a radio service with more than 100,000 radio stations from around the world, as well as a myriad of podcasts and audio programs on request. You can listen to the radio both in the computer's browser and in the mobile application.
Be sure to pay attention to the useful feature of TuneIn, namely - the search bar for live radio stations. You should enter the name of the artist (or song), and TuneIn instantly finds the stream of the radio station, on which the music you are interested in is now playing. This is a great way to find a new radio to your liking, right? So think about the implementation of a feature of the sort if you’re seriously interested in creating a workable analog of Pandora digital radio application.
Spotify
Spotify is a streaming music service available in 66 countries. Its audience numbers more than 100 million people, its catalog contains about 300 million songs. The service can be used on desktops, mobile devices, the web, as well as on game consoles, TVs, and stereos.
Spotify provides a legal opportunity to listen to online tracks and offers convenient algorithms to select music, which matches your tastes.
If you’re interested in how to make a music streaming app like Spotify, read our article!
Soundcloud
Soundcloud is a platform, which focuses on audio distribution and allows you to listen, collect, and makeup playlists. And you can use not only music but also other sound lines, such as recording radio programs.
Artists often upload to Soundcloud their compositions which are sometimes available for both listening and downloading. The service makes it possible to listen to music in the computer's browser and in the iOS and Android applications.
Deezer
Deezer is usually chosen by people interested in streaming music over the Internet. The service helps users listen to different tracks on various devices, online or offline. At the moment, the Deezer music library contains about 42 million tracks. In addition, the company has contracts with the largest music labels, such as EMI, Sony, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.
Deezer has a free version that is supplemented with ads and permits you to listen to all music through the browser and playlists from your smartphone. Though the quality of the music is cut down to 128 kbps. The paid option doesn’t contain advertising and offers a higher quality of sound, but the subscription price is quite high - about 7 euros.
Agree, the examples of the above applications should be considered if you want to know how to make a radio app, which will be competitive and successful. Think about how to outdo your competitors, what advantages to offer, what user problems to solve. After coping with such a task, go to the next point, namely...
How to make a radio app like Pandora?
Consider the following steps:
#1. Obtaining a license
Unfortunately, you cannot start streaming music around the world without getting preliminary permission. Otherwise, you’ll violate copyright law. Be sure to study this question before you take on radio app development. And by the way, the lion's share of Pandora's spending (about 50%) is royalties for the right to broadcast music: in 2016, royalty fees had reached $ 734.35 million.
If you're dealing with the U.S., you should apply to The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers or Broadcast Music Incorporated. If the matter concerns Europe, consult the European Stage Authors and Composers.
#2. Location
Think about the countries in which your service will be available. Even large music streaming services don’t consider it possible to stream around the world and are initially limited to the most significant regions, gradually expanding the sphere of influence. We advise you to follow this example.
#3. Streaming music
The streaming process consists of several stages:
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Decide on how you're going to stream the music and what database you find appropriate because there'll be a lot of information to store. You can use either hardware (though you'll need a really powerful one), or a cloud aimed to host your server and data. In fact, there are a few schemes of radio app arrangement, such as:
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The easiest option is when the broadcast center is installed on a virtual server, and music streaming is coming from the cloud directly to listeners.
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The classic version implies that the stream is coming from the studio through the distribution server, and then goes to listeners.
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Choose the technology for creating Pandora clone, namely, its streaming feature which is obviously the main one when it comes to radio app development. There are a great lot of options to implement the efficient streaming process, such as:
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Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC) - a technique designed to organize the transfer of streaming data between browsers or other supporting applications using point-to-point technology. The method allows you to create services aimed at direct video/audio exchange between users.
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RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol) is a proprietary broadcast protocol from Adobe, which is used to transfer streaming video and audio streams over the Internet. The RTMP client is primarily an Adobe Flash Player. It means modules for the server must be written in ActionScript.
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#4. UI/UX design
Anyone who wants to develop a radio app, which will benefit the owner cannot ignore the UI/UX design. The design of the application interface should be clean, modern, user-friendly, and intuitive. These factors may seem incompatible to you, but in reality, they are not.
In general, the design of the Pandora music and radio app (and its analogs) is very context-dependent. It is important whether the user is comfortable interacting with the interface of your radio service. Your purpose, then, is to make this happen.
In addition, be sure to study the market of mobile music services in order to find out how to build a radio app which will make a worthy competition. Earlier in the article, we've discussed your main rivals, but we were talking about the functionality they offer. Now it's time to pay attention to the visual component. So, when it comes to app design, you should take note of:
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Soundcloud: the service is unique and very expressive in its design, with an original approach to navigating the system. It has a wonderful visual language, thanks to which the user immediately recognizes the application among others.
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Apple MUSIC: the service, native for iOS, has a very appealing and clear design. After the release of iOS 11, it has become even more user-friendly and convenient.
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Spotify also offers an easy-to-use and laconic interface.
Analyzing competitors, try to follow their example and create an app with a bright, memorable, expressive visual language. And remember: although in the future, when improving the application, you must mostly focus on its content, don't forget to update the app design from time to time too. Weэre not talking about global changes, but small iterations should be taking into account.
As you see, UX/UI design is a complex task, so the most reasonable thing is to hire professionals. To decide on the final choice of UI/UX experts, take a look at their portfolio. For instance, here is one of our examples of interface design for music apps like Pandora:
The above concept looks very bright and expressive, its goal is to attract attention and stick in the memory. And it seems to us it copes with the task perfectly!
Below, we'll talk about our other experience of developing radio app design: the one that helped our client arouse great user's interest.
#5. A method of monetization
We’ve already told you how Pandora earns money. This is a fairly popular way to make a profit, so you ьфн take up the lead and move in a groove.
In general, music apps like Pandora can earn in the following ways:
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paid subscriptions. The ideal option is a freemium model when a user can take advantage of the basic app functionality without a fee but he should be paying a subscription to gain access to additional features.
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in-built purchases. Here, it all depends on your imagination. The main thing is to set reasonable prices for these in-app purchases.
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advertising. Don’t neglect such a method of monetization. Be sure to try to attract the attention of advertisers.
We advise you to combine all these methods, namely:
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Create an application with a basic functionality equipped with a thematic advertisement (but it shouldn’t be too annoying-intrusive)
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Simultaneously, provide advanced functionality without ads (this is an important point!) and grant access to it only for paid subscribers.
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Consider the system of built-in purchases. Let’s say, provide a user with the opportunity to buy and present his friend paid access to the app services for a year (or another time period). Speaking of cheaper built-in purchases, you can offer special stickers, virtual gifts, and stuff in the same way.
Acting in this way, you’ll be able to get the maximum profit.
If you want to get more information about the monetization of applications, read our article on the matter.
#6. Choosing your format
As you remember from our analysis, some of your competitors provide users with the possibility to compose their own music playlists, while others offer them to enjoy real radio air of several (or at least one) radio station. And now it's your turn to decide on the format of your music application.
You have several options:
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Follow the example of music apps like Pandora and let the user choose what he’ll listen to by creating his own radio stations (or playlists).
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Retry the experience of applications such as TuneIn. This very way was chosen by one of our clients, we'll discuss the issue in detail below.
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The combined version is what Apple Music offers: a person can listen to radio stations and simultaneously create his own playlists, as well as use a list of recommendations.
Whichever option you choose, we strongly advise you to supplement your app with the list of recommended tracks. Such an approach increases user engagement and, therefore, your profits.
If we convinced you, you should pay attention to the next stage of radio app development, namely…
#7. Algorithm of recommendations
It's time you thought about how you're going to make up lists of recommended music tracks.
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Co-filtering mode: to determine the recommended songs or albums, offer the most popular among them using the history of the overall ratings of all listeners.
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Content-oriented technology: the algorithm matches radio apps at most and offers songs, which are similar to those loved by a particular user.
#8. Feature set
Functionality is the main criterion of the cost of Pandora radio (Android, iOS) apps. That's why the feature set is worth considering. We propose to take into account such features as:
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Check-in, the main item in the list of significant features. Of course, it is very important to make the registration process very simple and eliminate unnecessary steps. The most popular way to register is to log in using social networks, integrating all your data from there. In other words, it is necessary to provide such a feature as…
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Integration of social networks. In addition to simplifying the registration process, the interaction with FB and other social media allows users to share different events related to your service with their friends.
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Possibility to make playlists. Of course, without this feature, music apps like Pandora are unthinkable!
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Built-in purchases. The feature belongs to the category of extra functionality. We suggest thinking about it if you want to know how to create an online radio station app able to become profitable and competitive.
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The search bar. The search engine won’t be superfluous for creating radio apps like Pandora either. Help your users find exactly what they want to listen to!
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Likes/dislikes - a feature allowing to interact with users, it helps to analyze their musical taste preferences.
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Music streaming feature. Well, this is a real must-have when you're considering radio app development!
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Push notification. The feature will allow you to stay in touch with the user and inform him about the latest events, news, promotions…
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Feedback. Perhaps the feature is not among the primary ones, but it is also important if you want to find out how to build a radio app that will meet the wishes of users. After all, the best way to make their dreams of the perfect radio station come true is to ask! That’s why you need this feature implemented.
#9. Hiring professionals
After dealing with the app requirement, you should understand who will help you bring them to life. It means it's time you started searching for the radio app development team.
In fact, you’ll need experts such as:
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Project Manager (or Product owner) whose duties imply the ability to coordinate the process of interaction between the client and the developers;
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UI/UX designers, who need to create an attractive and modern app design. Together with you, they’ll create a thoughtful user flow that will help you achieve the desirable KPIs;
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Mobile developers, or rather, iOS and Android developers whose task is to create applications able to work on the corresponding platforms;
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Backend engineers who develop server logic and make the application fast working;
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QA experts who have to test your application to make sure there are no errors.
#10. Marketing support
Understanding how to make a radio app of high quality is only the first step towards future financial gain. Actually, the popular service is the one being constantly promoted. So, we offer that you consider the following options to popularize music apps like Pandora:
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The app page in AppStore and Google Play is your selling lending, so make this page as clear to a user as possible. there is no need to describe the entire history of your application, just specify its advantages. Also, create appealing icons and screenshots.
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Use sources of paid promotion, such as media and video advertising. Later, you'll be able to abandon this type of advertising (or reduce it to the required minimum level).
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Identify your target audience. Such a step would help you promote your app in social networks more efficiently, with the most flexible targeting settings.
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Correctly choose advertising sources. Go where exactly your user is (it again takes us back to the need to identify the target user).
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Use email marketing, push notifications, and other possible promotion resources.
Your radio app development strategy
Now you, probably, more or less understand the way to create a custom radio station app. But here's the question: how can you make it interesting to the user (considering the sophisticated market)?
Well, there is no universal council: if music apps like Pandora were a simple way of making a profit, everyone would take advantage of it. Only the smartest ones can reap the benefit of being able to display acumen. So you have to apply all your wit to succeed…
Let’s give an example… how about creating a thematic radio application?
A couple of tips:
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Define a few narrow thematic niches. Later, you'll choose the best one among them. The niche can be related to any field of activity or hobbies. Just make sure it is in demand.
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Think about what kind of person belongs to the audience you’ve chosen. Figuratively speaking, draw his portrait.
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Think about where you can find representatives of your niche. Our advice is social networks. Surely, you’ll find thematic groups and pages on FB or Instagram. Join in the ones which seem most promising to you. Do not rush, your goal at this stage is to evaluate the members of the group and understand what your potential user wants and expects from popular music streaming applications.
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Now you’re ready to answer the questions:
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What kind of music does the representative of a particular group like?
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What type of app interface can attract him or her?
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What features can be useful to this man or woman? It’ll help you to make up a set of them.
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It's time to start creating the application itself. Above, we've listed all the important points, so just follow our tips. And pay special attention to the feature set!
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When radio app development is in full swing, start promoting your service. As you might remember, social networks and thematic groups would be very helpful to achieve such a goal. Publish posts advertising your radio (where permitted) or mention your music service in the comments. In addition, be sure to set up targeted paid advertising.
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The next question is how to attract advertisers. Think about what a potential businessman can offer your user (aside from the music service which you’re going to provide). What products would be appropriate to advertise in your application? Try to find a way to contact such a businessman and offer him the system of a win-win relationship.
We offered one possible way to stand out from the crowd. You’re free to choose your own, most importantly - take your time, carefully think through your strategy, as they say, from alpha to omega.
And now it is long overdue to move on to the next burning issue... we mean, obviously, the radio app development cost.
What budget should you have?
How much does it cost to develop a radio app?
So, as we’ve said, the next question you’re probably interested in is this one: how much does Pandora radio cost?
We hope you understand that when it comes to radio station app development, it's impossible to offer a universal price list. The app cost should be formed for each specific case.
In general, the price depends on the rate of the developer company (namely, how much they charge per hour of work) and the time it takes to create a radio app like Pandora.
#1. Developers rates
The rate of developers is primarily affected by the location of their company. Take a look:
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USA, Canada, Great Britain: from $ 150 per hour;
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Western Europe: $ 80-150 per hour, sometimes more (depending on the size of the company);
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Eastern Europe: $ 25-80 per hour, sometimes higher. The price divergence is also due to the size of the agency. Let’s say, small firms (which employ only a few people) ask for up to $ 35 per hour, medium-sized agencies have a rate of $ 35-50 per hour, while large companies require even higher rates.
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India: from $ 15 per hour, rarely above $ 50.
We recommend that you turn your attention to the experts from Eastern Europe, the best option is the Ukrainian developers. They are highly qualified as IT professionals and offer affordable prices. They know exactly how to make a radio app like Pandora without overpaying during the process.
#2. Radio app development time
The creation of the functionality of a radio application of medium complexity requires the following number of hours:
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Development of a feature set: 150-250 hours (and more, depending on your wishes)
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Backend development: 350-450 hours
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Interface design: 100-200 hours
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Testing: over 200 hours
In general, you have two options
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MVP model. This is a low-cost radio app development option, which will allow you to release an application with minimal functionality. Earlier, we've offered you an expanded set of possible features. Strike out a few of them, such as built-in purchases, push notifications, feedback, and Likes/dislikes features, choose the simplest way to compile a list of recommended tracks, and you'll get your MVP model. Its development will require about $ 10-20K.
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application with full functionality. Here the cost can be arbitrarily high, usually about $ 80-100K. The list of recommended features can be supplemented with any additional ones.
You seem to have received complete information on what budget to draw up to build an app like Pandora. Now it's time we shared with you our expertise in radio station app development.
Our expertise
We have broad experience in developing applications of various types. Therefore, we not only KNOW how to make a radio app, but we’ve also already MADE one! For it was our team that created Radio Shark.
But we went the other way, not the way the owners of Pandora have chosen. It means instead of providing different playlists, our app offers radio air of full value, with author's programs and DJs.
What is Radio Shark?
Radio Shark is a modern radio station with media content of a new level. This is a convenient and understandable application, which makes listening to your favorite music tracks especially enjoyable.
Shark Radio offers:
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high-quality actual music;
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interesting author's programs;
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funny jokes of witty leaders;
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broadcast on Facebook and YouTube;
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convenient navigation;
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appealing interface.
For now, the application is monetized through advertising, and the service itself is being actively promoted, attracting more and more new users.
Our solution
Radio Shark works on a powerful server on the German hosting and pleases listeners with the impeccable quality of the audio stream and the perfect smoothness of the sound reproduction. Our developers have established a reliable interaction of the application with databases, and therefore the service is working flawlessly, just as the client expected and hoped it would. So, we've coped with the task excellently, so to say, we managed to cream up.
Obviously, our experts had faced different challenges and difficulties which had been successfully overcome. That’s why you can be sure we know all about successful radio app development.
An important lesson we've learned during the app creation process (a lesson which can be useful to you too) is our understanding of the need for constant post-production support of any mobile and web service. A simple example: the market appearance of the iPhone 10 led to the necessity to optimize Radio Shark.
Such adaptation of the application was required because of the new iPhone design - after all, the service should work equally well on any platform and any device, even on the one which appeared just recently... that's why it's so important to monitor the development of technologies and the opportunities they offer. Among other things, this is the best way to stay up to date and meet the needs of the age.
So don’t think that radio app development ends with the release of your mobile service. No, app creation is a fascinating and difficult path, which can and should lead you to financial success.
And Shark radio project didn’t stop with its release either, it continues to grow after its successful market launch. For example, one of its newest features provides users with an opportunity to listen to their favorite program after its broadcast on air.
We’ve implemented the above feature by using the popular cloud service named Mixcloud, created to store and play (on demand) music shows, podcasts, and DJ mixes. Thanks to it, each listener will have access to any recorded broadcast he really likes.
Thus, such a feature allows the user not only to listen to the recording of the broadcast he has missed but also to download the record and share it with friends on social networks.
In the future, Shark Radio will definitely please its listeners with many other interesting features. What will they be like? Hard to say! But one thing we can guarantee with certainty: we’re ready to meet any challenge!
Design solution
As you already know, app design is also an important stage in the development process. The ability to find the right approach to an excellent design means to answer the question of how to build a radio app, which will surely appeal to the user. Therefore, we paid enough attention to this problem.
The main idea of Radio Shark design is simplicity and accessibility. The person should be able to begin using the application right away after its installation, without any delay and discomfort. And, we think, the task has been successfully completed.
We should say Radio Shark was not the first project that our client entrusted to us. Earlier, we built another mobile product for the same company - Shark Taxi app. While developing the design of this taxi service, we managed to create a harmonious visual language including the size and shape of buttons, the color scheme, interaction with typography, etc. Therefore, it was important to show the interconnection between these mobile applications (Shark Taxi and Radio Shark).
We implemented a simple and understandable navigation system. Among other things, you can navigate between the app screen by swiping left or right, and you can move in the section itself using the scroll action.
We made sure the application would be used with maximum comfort, with one hand only. And these goals are served by a large "play/pause" button located at the bottom of the screen - the very place you're expecting it to be.
The client is completely pleased with our cooperation, which is one more proof of the high competence of Agilie experts.
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To summarize, let's say: it doesn’t matter whether you have the opportunity to hire DJs and create a program schedule or not, - contact us anyway! We know how to make a radio app like Pandora or another mobile music service of your choice, and we’d be happy to help you at the highest professional level.
