Designing the MVP for a Music Promotion Platform

B2C, Music & Entertainment

Flockloop

Startup MVP

2025

Project Background

I was brought in to design the MVP experience, brand tone, and product architecture for a new music-tech startup during its accelerator phase. The mission was to validate whether a “UGC-powered promotion loop” could work as an alternative to traditional marketing.

The Problem

Independent artists find it hard to get their music heard without paying for unreliable promotion services.
At the same time, content creators want to monetize their work but rarely have access to fair opportunities.
Most existing tools treat promotion like a gig marketplace, transactional, unclear, and often disappointing.

My Contribution

The goal was to design an MVP that connects artists and creators in a simple, transparent way. Artists upload songs and set campaign budgets, while creators earn by using these songs in short-form videos. My role was to define the product experience (alongside features, so I also wore the hat of the PM), structure the dashboard, and ensure both sides understood how value flows through the platform.

Highlights

During early research, artists expressed distrust toward fake reach numbers and poor campaign visibility. Creators said they didn’t feel respected or rewarded enough to engage. The main insight was that both sides wanted clarity and motivation.

For artists, I designed a campaign dashboard that clearly shows active campaigns, submissions, and budget status. The approval flow includes a progress bar that fills as they review and approve videos, making the process more intuitive while showing how funds are used.

For creators, I moved away from the job-board format used by competitors. Instead, I created a discovery feed inspired by Spotify. It lets creators browse songs naturally, listen before choosing, and stay in flow while exploring. This makes the experience familiar and encourages creative exploration rather than transactional behavior.

Discovery

I spoke with artists, micro-labels, and creators to identify common frustrations.
Artists said playlist campaigns and “promo services” felt like scams. They had little control and didn’t see results. Creators said that similar platforms offered poor rewards and confusing payout systems.

The key takeaway was that both groups wanted a clear, fair, and direct system and this shaped the platform’s core principle: make it simple to understand who benefits, how, and when.

Ideation

I mapped both user journeys to align their goals.

For artists, the focus was control and measurable progress.
For creators, it was ease of discovery and fast rewards.

The result was two connected but distinct experiences: a clear dashboard for artists to track and manage campaigns, and a familiar music-driven interface for creators to discover songs and submit their work.