Music Downloads Website Design by Jay Varney

Music Download Providers

Examining the design of music download and streaming websites operated by the following:

iTunes

Spotify

Amazon Last Fm

Contents 3 8 12 13 15 1 21 27 28 29 32 34 37 41

Introduction Market Situation Industry Opinions Navigation Data and Segmentation Objectives of Website Design Online Value Propostion Customer Orientation Dynamic Design and Personalistion Aesthetics Page design Navigation and Structure Interaction Conclusion and Recommendations References

Introduction

Introduction About The Report

This report was created in order to examine the websites of four companies operating in the digital music market and to assess how each one offers a service to its customers. The companies chosen were: 1. iTunes 2. Amazon MP3 3. Spotify 4. Last Fm Two paid music download providers and two music streaming providers were chosen in order to examine both digital music environments and to aknowledge the rise of music streaming services. The aim of this report is to give the reader an insight into how the four companies operate within their market and what aspects of website design need to be considered when a company operates online. Theories surrounding website design will be used to illustrate the ways in which the four companies have excelled in providing a service, but they will also be used to critically analyse the companies.

Jay Varney

Alistair Samasuwo

Kyle Stewart

Charlotte Rhodes

About The Team

JACK Downloads is a team of four Buckinghamshire New University students studying Business & Management. The digital music industry was chosen because of the teams interest in how the music industry has been changed by music streaming and dowloads.

Introduction

iTunes (Apple.com/uk/itunes/) iTunes™ is the music download service offered by Apple™. It is undoubtably the market leader in Music downloads with over 200 million users worldwide. iTunes™ distributes downloads through its free desktop and iPhone™ Application. once the app is downloaded users can easily purchase new

iTunes Desktop Application

music and manage their collection. In addition to music downloads iTunes offers films, apps and books.

iTunes Mobile App

The iTunes™ Mobile App offers much of the functionality of the desktop app but with less features. Downloading books, Apps and playing music are all done through separate apps available from apple™. The app is easy to use and runs smoothly, purchases and searches can be made as easy as the desktop app whilst on the move.

Introduction

Amazon (Amazon.co.uk/mp3) Amazon is a large international online retailer that sells a wide variety of products including electricals, toys and clothing. Amazon has the second largest share in the music downloads Market and launched its mp3 download service towards the end of 2008. Customers can purchase music from Amazon directly within their browser or they can

Amazon Website

download the app which offers more features making the experience easier for customers.The Mobile App offered by Amazon can’t be used to make purchases but it

Amazon Mobile App

does allow users to play songs they’ve already purchased. A good feature of this app is that users can play songs stored on the ‘Cloud’ without them being stored on the phone. They can re-download purchased songs to their phone from anywhere. Amazon also offers a second app where users can search through all retail categories and music donwloads and add items to their wishlist for later.

Introduction

Spotify Desktop Application

Spotify (www.spotify.com/uk/) Spotify is a music streaming application allowing people to listen to their favourite music without downloading any tracks. People can stream songs for free to their computer without the need to download songs, this both saves memory and also saves the cost of purchasing legal downloads. Spotify has over 15 million users (Hypebot.com, 2012) with 4 million users paying for Spotify Premium. Spotify Premium is the paid

service offered to users, the advantage is that adverts are removed from listening and users will also be able to stream directly to a smartphone or tablet. Spotify Premium costs

Spotify Mobile App

£9.99 a month and also offers local playback of songs in the same way an mp3 player does. The spotify mobile app requires a wireless internet connection to access all of its features. The app allows users to view playlists, artists and albums, there is also a page for ‘what’s new’ which promotes new/ popular tracks. Another feature is the radio tab which allows users to stream songs relevant to certain artists without selecting tracks first.

Introduction

Last FM Website

Last FM (www.last.fm/) Last FM is a streaming service that uses the listeners favourite artists to select similar tracks to play next. This allows people to find music they may like without searching and also adds variety to the experience. Last FM can be played through the website, mobile app or also on games consoles such as the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Users can skip through tracks if they don’t like the

choice, they can also ‘like’ a track or ban it from playing to their account. Last FM also gives users the opportunty to purchase tracks/albums from third party sources such

Last FM Mobile App

as iTunes, Amazon and 7Digital.

The Last FM mobile app offers many features including a tab displaying events that shows users music events happening nearby such as signings and concerts. Streaming music to a smartphone will cost the user £3 a month which will give them ad-free streaming from anywhere.

Market situation

Market Situation Market Size

BBC (2012) puts the number of songs downloaded digitally at “26.6million” in 2011 and the number of songs bought in compact disc format at “86.2million”. This puts the current market size at roughly 112.8million. IFPI’s digital music report goes on to state that “Digital music revenues to record companies grew by 8 per cent globally in 2011 to an estimated US$5.2 billion” and the IFPI’s reports’ key facts and figures (2012) estimates that “3.6 billion downloads were purchased globally in 2011, an increase of 17 percent (combining singles and albums downloads)”

Market Share

iTunes is the dominant leader in terms of market share for the digital downloading market. Keizer, G. (Computerwoorld, 2010) states that “iTunes’ share of the retail digital music download business in the U.S. now stands at 70%, an increase of one percentage point since the firm last measured iTunes’ position in 2009.” He then goes on to say that “The market share of Amazon.com Inc.’s digital download arm, AmazonMP3, grew by four percentage points to 12% in the same period” and then finally adds that “The remaining digital music business

is split among a number of smaller players…There are a bunch of places where you can get digital downloads that have 1%, 2% or 3% shares”. From this we can show that Apple iTunes is by far the dominant force in digital downloads and unless a drastic unforeseen circumstance happens it can be assumed that their reign as top digital download provider will continue.

Issues in the Market

Negative One issue that troubles music download providers is that there are still people who prefer to buy their music in compact disc format as opposed to downloading it online. As explained below this number is shrinking, however (Ofcom, 2012) states there is a 76% proportion of adults with broadband in the UK, which means 24% are still without which means this percentage and probably more if looking to buy music will purchase it in stores and not via download.

Market situation

Positive As briefly mentioned above the number of album sales is decreasing whilst the number of downloads is increasing. Statistics from the BBC (2010) show that “album sales dropped by 3.5% in 2009 to 128.9 million, the fifth year in a row they have fallen. But the fall was eased by a 56.1% rise in album downloads to 16.1 million, now accounting for one in eight sold”, the download figures have continued to rise the BBC (2012) show that in 2011 “26.6 million downloaded albums were sold, a 24% rise on the previous year”

Negative Another issue that troubles the digital download market is the increase of illegal downloads. Downloading illegally is cheap and in current financial times some people don’t want to spend in excess of £510 to download an album or £0.79 for a single song (Amazon, 2012) this has led to a sharp increase in people downloading songs illegally, “Around 7.7m people have illegally downloaded music this year, according to research commissioned by the British record industry’s trade association” (BBC, 2010).

Market situation

Music Industry Infographic Whilst the music industry may be missing out on sales due to piracy there is still an increase in sales on the whole. The music industry saw a growth of $7bn between 2006 and 2011 to reach $67bn. Digital music sales saw a drop of $0.2bn between 2009 and 2010 but then a year on there was an increase of $0.6bn. There has also been an increase in the number of people using paid streaming services, between 2010 and 2011 the amount of users jumped from 8.2m to 13m indicating a shift in the way people are downloading and listening to music

Music Production Schools 2011

James West 2010

Market situation

Market Situation - Streaming The population of Norway had the highest proportion of music streamers in 2011 at 48% closely followed by Spain (44%) and Sweden (43). The UK and US have a much smaller proportion at 18% and 32% respectively, that said the 2011 population of the UK was over 12 times higher than Norway and the US was 60 times Higher at just over 300m (World Bank, 2011). Globally in 2012 music streaming revenues will increase 40% to ÂŁ696m (BBC, 2012) this will make music streaming the fastest growing sector in the industry.

IFPI 2012

industry opinions

Industry Opinions Mark Mulligan

(Digital Music Market Analyist) “Streaming music services have brought some much needed momentum to the global digital music market, just when it was needed. But the success has come with price of controversy and heated debate across the value chain about just what effect streaming services have on the broader music marketplace.”

Dave Kusek

(Founder of Berkleemusic.com) “Most of what we take for granted in the music business today is brand new. A decade ago there was no iPod, YouTube, Facebook or Apple iTunes. A decade from now, the industry will be very different than it is today and anyone seeking to prosper in music or digital media needs to learn to adapt and exploit trends that are shaping the future of the business.”

Plácido Domingo, chairman, IFPI

(Chairman of the IFPI) “As a passionate supporter of the music industry, I welcome these changes. However, it is fundamental that artists and creators, and the producers that invest in them, should be rewarded for their work in the digital environment just as in the physical world. Governments and legislation have an essential role to play. I only have to look at my native Spain – where piracy has had a terrible effect on everyone’s royalties and the labels’ investment in artists – to see the extent of the challenges we face.”

Navagation Data and Segmentation

Navigation Data & Segmentation Secondary Data Alexa Website Traffic

Mintel

The Apple website has a worldwide rank of 33, the iTunes website is part of the whole Apple website. There are more males visitors to the Apple website and it has a much higher proportion of users belonging to high income categories, this is likely caused by the high prices of Apple products. Visitors of the apple belong to the younger categories.

It was also found that whilst older people are less likely to use streaming services compared to the young their reasons behind streaming relate to obtaining material unavailable elsewhere.

Amazon is ranked highest with a global rank of 10. More women use Amazon compared with men and people in higher income brackets visit amazon more than the lower categories. Amazon users are aged proportionally the same as the general population.

Spotify has a global rank of 1,442, the gender of its users is similar to that of the general population. A large proportion of users belong to the income bracket $30k-$60k. The majority of spotify users are aged between 18 - 35. Last FM has a global rank of 993, there is a higher proportion of male users than female. Last FM has more visitors that belong to the lowest income brackets. The majority of Last FM visitors are aged between 18 - 35. (Alexa.com, 2012)

Data from Mintel indicates that there has been an increase in music downloads at the same time as a decrease in physical CD Sales. The percentage of consumers purchasing a music download in 2009 was 14.4%, this increased to 16.5% in 2010 and 17.1% in 2011.

The top 3 reason behind using streaming services were: 1. To discover content for later purchases 2. To get value for money 3. To find content unvailable elsewhere 29% of respondents didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an issue with the fact that streaming services didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t offer them ownership of licences. (Mintel, 2012)

Navagation Data and Segmentation

Primary Research Small scale interviews were conducted with music fans to find out their views on the different music downloads services and the market as a whole. We asked them about their preffered method of obtaining music and their opinions on the digital music market.

Alan Collins

Car Factory Worker aged 32. ‘I prefer to use Spotify, I stream music from my laptop as well as using Spotify premium on my Andriod phone, it saves me money in the long run because I have a broad taste in music which would cost lots to purchase as individual track’ Alan’s opinion on piracy: ‘I think it’s a good thing, artists can connect directly with listeners and small scale musicians can get their music out to wider audience. In my opinion The issues of piracy outweigh the advantages that can be brought from digital music’.

Leo Butt

University Student aged 20. ‘I use iTunes a lot because I can easily put music onto my iPhone, I also have an iMac so I use the desktop application because it runs smoothly and looks good on the screen. I would use streaming services but I have enough spare money allowing me to buy the tracks I want’ Leo’s opinion on piracy: ‘I think piracy is a big issue, I know lots of people that illegally download music and find it fuuny that I’m willing to pay for music. People don’t see the consequences of what could happen if no one paid for music’.

Beverley Harry

College Lecturer aged 45. ‘To be honest I don’t download music very often, I listen to 1xtra on my lunch break because it’s accessible but when I’m at home I listen to my CDs. The music I would download, I already have on CD so what’s the point?’ Beverley’s opinion on piracy: ‘I think it’s certainly dissapointing for the music industry, if someone was to walk into a shop and steal a CD they would expect to be punished so why do they think it’s any different when they’re hidden behind a computer’.

Objectives of website design

The Objectives of Website Design When designing a website it is important to focus on the needs of the potential customer. This is aimed at keeping the customer visiting the website while also providing and meeting the customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requirements.

The layout of the website should provide the user with easy access. This enables the user to be able to review the range of services available on the website. This in return will give the user a good customer experience. A satisfied user will keep coming back to use the website. Through word of mouth or through social media the satisfied customer will promote and be an advocate for the website, thus bringing in more customers. Web users in the 21st century are savvy and knowledgeable therefore it is important to meet their ever evolving needs. Unless a web site meets the needs of the intended users it will not meet the needs of the organization providing the website. Web site development should be user centred, evaluating the evolving design against user requirements. (Bevan 1999) The website needs to be able to do the following things for the

consumer: help them communicate with the organisation, offer them information and where applicable help them to make a purchase. In order to address these issues, web design has to incorporate the 5 Ss: sell, serve, speak, save and sizzle. The websites analysed are iTunes, Last FM, Amazon MP3 and Spotify. They provide users with opportunities to stream or download high quality songs and albums from a wide range of music selections for nominal costs. They offer the users chances to interact with other users by rating and discussing songs and albums. With a lot of free music download sites it is important that these websites deliver high quality music together with great user interface and interaction so as to give the customers value for money and great customer experience.

Objectives of website design

SELL-growing sales can be achieved through effective communication of propositions and through making e commerce facilities straightforward.

The 5 Ss

SERVE- through designing easy to use interactive services that help customers in their purchasing, navigation and customer service enquiries.

SPEAK- site to converse with and get closer to customers by providing tailor made content and designing interactive facilities to creating a dialogue and learning about their needs. This helps in making the interactions more personal and customers can add reviews to help further users to the site.

SAVE- costs are saved through delivering online content and services that may have previously been achieved through print and post or face to face services and sales transactions.

SIZZLE-an excellent site design helps build the brand and reinforces the brand values through the type of content, interactivities and over style, tone and feel.

iTunes and Amazon MP3 are the two sites that directly focus on selling, Last FM is free unless you want to pay for the mobile app and Spotify is also available for free but consumers can upgrade to Spotfy premium if they pay the subscription cost. Customers are served through the assortment of web pages and apps available from each company, apps are designed to simplify the purchasing process whilst also making it convenient.

Objectives of the Website

Provide information- this gives customers information on the products or services offered by the business as well as the history, goals and market share of the business. Sell products- the website is unlike shops as there are no opening and closing times. Therefore it can sell goods or services globally 24 hours a day and 7 days a week without trading restrictions. Find new customers- the website can highlight offers and promotions to bring in potential customers.

Improve communications with existing customers- by providing the customer with a login and an account helps build a relationship through customer incentives, recommendations, discounts and offers. This may lead them into purchasing a wider range of goods.

Objectives of website design

iTunes - Ease of use iTunes has a clean website with only vital information on display making it easy to navigate. The iTunes app is also easy to use thanks to its search bar and simple menus

Amazon - Quality Content Amazon has a wide range of music available for download. Files are high quality compared with streaming services

Objectives of website design

Spotify - Accessibility Spotify can be used for free which makes it accessible to people with a computer. The mobile app can be used if consumers pay for spotify premium, this allows them to listen to all the tracks available whilst on the move

Last FM - Ease of use Last FM can be used without the need to download anything. The website has an easy to use music player with familiar controls making it easy to get used to

ONLINE VALUE PROPOSITION

Online Value Proposition The online value proposition (OVP) refers to the reasons why a customer will return to a website and whether the objectives of that website are clear to users. The OVP is similar to the concept of a unique selling point (USP) but specifically applies to websites. A strong OVP is important as it can lead to customer loyalty and increased sales, the OVP is made up of multiple factors including the URL, tagline and identity portrayed through the homepage. The OVP needs to explain how it is: 1. Different to competitors 2. Not available in the real world 3. Going to make a different to your customers’ lives.

‘The value proposition describes the total customer experience with the firm in its alliance partners over time, rather than [being limited to] that communicated at point of sale’ (Molineux, 2002). This refers to the whole customer experience not just when the sale is made, it can include after sales services or interaction with the website

The online value proposition for iTunes is based around its user interface and compatabilty. iTunes has a sleek desktop application that can be used for arranging music and downloading new tracks with ease, it has a strong reputation for being the standard for downloading music. iTunes is compatable with all Apple devices including the iPod, iPad and increasingly popular iPhone, iTunes is needed to fully utilise their features that range from arranging apps to backing up all of your iPhones contacts.

Amazon has a large range of tracks available and is compatable with all devices. Users can make downloads without installing the Amazon MP3 App. The OVP of Amazon is that it offers a large range of tracks compatable with all types of MP3 player. customers have a lot more freedom than they do with iTunes as

The OVP for spotify is that users can listen to as many tracks as they want for free , this is a great alternative for listeners that aren’t worried about

ONLINE VALUE PROPOSITION

they don’t need to buy an Amazon manufactured device and aren’t forced to download the dekstop

having ‘ownership’ of licences. People can also use Spotify on the move if they pay the subscription for Spotify premium which may be a lot cheaper than

The OVP for Last FM is that it makes automatic suggestions to listeners and plays similar tracks after each other, this can be useful for finding new music and allows listeners to hear the same kind of music when an artist is mentioned. This type of listening takes freedom away from the listener but allows them to discover new music with ease. If users don’t like a track they have to option to skip through it in the same way they would on a music player

application. Amazon is a good alternative for the people that dont agrree with using iTunes.

if they downloaded and purchased each individual track. This not only saves money but can also save large amounts of memory on mobile phones.

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Customer Orientation Usability

A usablity test was set up for each of the four companies contained in this report, a user was asked to find a specific song and play it where possible.

iTunes

The user visited the iTunes website but then had to download the desktop application before they could search for the track. The application had a clear, easy to use interface and by typing the song name into the search bar the user quickly found the track they were looking for. The user was then also able to preview the track without paying for the full downloads

Amazon

The user was able to find the song faster in amazon as they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to download a desktop application. Within a few steps they typed the name into the search bar and found the track, whilst the website wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t very easy on the eye it did function well and even offered a preview in the same way that iTunes did. It was made clear that amazon would be easier to use than iTunes for those that are less technically savvy. Spotify The user had to download the spotify desktop application before they could search for music, this was made easier as signup only required facebook details. The interface was simple and clear to the user but once the search terms had been entered there was some confusion

on how to stream the track, at first they were given the option to purchase the track. After a brief delay they were able to find the track to stream and the spotify player worked quickly.

Last FM

Last FM was one of the fastest to find the track, the internal search function was used and as the track was typed in the search function automatically displayed thumbnails below the search bar meaning only part of the title had to be inputted. The user clicked on the thumbnail and the correct song was played.

Results

Last FM was one of the fastest to find the song searched for but iTunes was the most convenient as tracks could be downloaded and quickly added to the library. Amazon is easy to use for one off purchases if people want to shop arround for a track but iTunes can save people time.

It is important to improve usability by making a webpage or application easy to learn and easy to use for individual., People are likely to pay more for an easy to use service instead of trying to save money using a harder to learn interface.

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Website Usability Checklist iTunes Amazon Spotify Last FM The website loads within 3 seconds Good Good Good Good The purpose of the site and the critical Good Good Good Good actions are clear within 5 seconds The site logo is easy to find and links Good Good Good Good to the homepage It’s easy to find the About Us, Contact Good Average Average Good Us and Home links The internal search function is easy to Good Good Good Good find and use (if applicable) There is a customer 404 page for Good Good Good Good broken links Forms and signups only require Average Good Good Good essential information and provide helpful feedback The title tags, meta descriptions, Average Average Good Average headers and URLs are clear and descriptive The text on the page is easy to read Good Average Good Good The pages are easy to scan for Good Bad Average Good important information and are free of errors The design, layout and organisation Good Average Good Average of the site are proffessional and consistent. The navigation is clear, well organised Good Good Good Good and does not overwhelm The important site content is viewable NO NO YES NO on a small monitor without scrolling Links are obvious and take you to Good Average Good Good relevant pages Animation, video, pop-ups and ads are Good Good Good Good kept to a bare minimum

Adapted from John Turner’s Usability Checklist, (2012)

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) “Search engine marketing (SEM) - placing messages on a search engine, encouraging click-through to a web site when the user types a specific keyword phrase” (Chaffey, 2012). Search engine marketing is vital because many potential customers will use search engines to get to your website whether its from keyword phrases or from typing in your businesses name directly to find a URL address.

manner whilst also making use of the searcher’s IP address, giving a geographic location to improve relevance

Search Engine Optimisation

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is where a website is ranked based on a combination of keyword phrases and given a postition in the listings. SEO can be outsourced to a search engine optimisation firm but it can also be done in house if researched properly. SEM is relevant to both small businesses and large brands as it relies on the results brought up by keyword phrases.

Understanding how a search engine generates a ranking is a key factor of search engine optimisation. The main processes used are: 1. Crawling - a Bot identifies relevant webpages that it indexes and assesses wether it has changed. 2. Indexing - the search engine can quickly find the most relevant pages containing the searcher’s query. 3. Ranking - the use of multiple ranking factors will decide in which order pages shall be displayed. 4. Query request and results serving - the search engine interface displays results in a recognisable

An organic listing

Pay Per Click (PPC)

Pay per click is where a website pays a search engine to display their websites information at the top of the page or the side in an ‘Ads’ section. This form of marketing is succesful as it allows a website to appear above the organic listings and will often lead to that website being used first if it’s relevant. Pay per click marketing can now display Ads for websites that contain thumbnail images and prices for retal products.

An example of Pay Per Click

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Total search results (about 570,000,000)

Amazon PPC

Spotify PPC Amazon

Google Organic Listing iTunes

Bing Organic Listing Amazon Spotify iTunes

Pay Per Click Along the top and down the side

Total search results (about 570,000,000) Pay Per Click Along the top and down the side

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Meta Data

Meta Data is contained within the HTML source code of a website. Meta Data is used by search engines to disply information about a webpage and also to help rank the webpage based on relevance. The main types of meta data are: 1. Document title meta tag 2. Description meta tag 3. Keywords meta tag

The ‘Title’ meta tag is given the most weighting by search engines and therefore the most important. The title is the same as the title that will appear in search results for users to click on which means it needs to contain relevant, powerful words. <title>Music for every moment Spotify</title>

The ‘Description’ meta tag contains the information that will be used as the description in search engine results, it needs to contain the most important information for users so that they get a clear idea about the website.

How to view HTML Source Code

A section of HTML Source Code

The ‘Keywords’ meta tag uses keywords to summarise the content of a document, keywords are not actually used in search results from google but may be important to internal search engines (Chaffey, 2012). <meta name=”keywords” content=”Spotify, music, online, listen, streaming, play, digital, album, artist, playlist”>

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

Apple.com/uk/itunes/ Title: Apple (United Kingdom) – iTunes – Everything you need to be entertained. Description: iTunes is the world’s best way to play — and add to — your collection of music, films, TV programmes, apps, audiobooks and more. All on your Mac or PC. Last.fm Title: Last.fm Description: The world’s largest online music catalogue, powered by your scrobbles. Free internet radio, videos, photos, stats, charts, biographies and concerts.

Analysis & Comparison

Meta Tags Spotify.com/uk/ Title: A world of music - Spotify Description: Spotify is a digital music service that gives you access to millions of songs. Keywords: Spotify, music, online, listen, streaming, play, digital, album, artist, playlist

Amazon.co.uk/MP3 Title: Amazon MP3 &amp; Cloud Player Description: Download albums and songs from the Amazon MP3 Store and listen anywhere with Cloud Player.

The most complete meta page is the one provided by Spotify, it is the only one including the ‘Keywords’ meta tag which is mainly used by the internal search engine. iTunes has the longest most detailed ‘Description’ meta tag which helps it to fully explain the service on offer.

All of the websites have suitable meta tags which will help them to attract to correct users. Last FM appears to be the only website lacking pay per click advertising, all of the other three websites appeared in the paid search marketing when relevant keyword phrases are typed into the search bar. The reason for this may be the type of service Last FM offers, because it mainly gets income from advertising and not paid services like the other three.

Meta Title and Meta Description displayed in a search engine

DYNAMIC DESIGN AND PERSONALISATION

Dynamic Design & Personalition Websites are able to offer users a personal experience which can improve the users perceptions of a business. An action as simple as displaying the users name and welcoming them everytime they use the website can prove valuable in creating a strong relationship with customers.

An example of Amazon using personalisation

websites use cookies to enable them to recognise when a user has returned, sensitive data is stored securely in a database and the cookie can correspond with this to welcome the user by name. Cookies wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work if users decide to delete them after visiting a webpages Another example of personalisation is when a business directs users to a version of their website optimised for their country through the use of IP addresses. Customer preferences can also be set by the user selecting different types of content. Recommendation algorithms are used to suggest subjects or products to users with similar interests to another, this method can be useful as it suggests products to customers before they may have thought about making the purchase themselves.

eBay uses past purchases to suggest other products

AESTHETICS

Aesthetics iTunes

Apple are known for their simplistic website using white space and bold text, their website contains only essential information and all descriptions are kept concise and to the point. They use large high quality images to display their products and service. The desktop application for iTunes continues the use of a clean layout, instead of white, a light grey is used with a gradient to make the app appear more sophisticated. The Lucida Grande font is used which is clear and straight making the app look digitally advanced. The aesthetics of the app match the way that it runs smoothly and ultimately adds to the popularity of iTunes.

Amazon MP3

The website for Amazon MP3 has a large number of titles and images on it, the background is white and the site has subtitles and links running along the top and left side. This site can be unpleasant on the eyes due to the lack of white space and number or tracks on display. The site uses cambria which is a clear font and easy to read. The top section of the site containing a search bar also uses a grey gradient similar to the iTunes app, this helps bring out the feature of the search bar and make it clearer than the rest of the page.

Spotify

Spotify has a clear concise website, they use a picture of an iMac displaying the Spotify app as a background. They use

the green logo in the top right corner and the same shade of green on a button asking users if they wish to download the app. The homepage isn’t scrollable which makes it easier to look at. Spotify’s app uses several shades of grey with predominantly dark grey on both sides. The app is clear and easy on the eye, the dark greys focus your attention on the lighly coloured tracks without imposing on your peripheral vision.

Last FM

Last FM has a simplistic website using the bold red of the logo on toolbars and light greys on the rest of the page. The site uses lots of small icons corresponding to titles to help make the experience more visual. There is a self updating list which shows people that are currently listening to music, this is a smart feature and it creates movement in the website making it more interactive. The music player on the website has a large box which displays pictures of the artists, the background around the videos often displays a large advert to bring in advertising revenue, the site would look cleaner without the adverts but they are necessary to pay for running costs. Summary of Aesthetics iTunes has the most aesthetically pleasing site followed by spotify. Amazon MP3 on the other hand has a poorly arranged web page that lacks structure. Last FM has a simplistic website but the effect isn’t the same as the one Apple have achieved with the iTunes site

PAGE DESIGN

Page Design Page design is important for organisations setting up their website as there is a need for the website to offer a positive user experience as well as being informative and well presented.

The company logo should be visible and the homepage should act as a hub introducing the website and helping users navigate to other pages of the website. The homepage needs to contain important information whilst maintaing a clean consistent look. The theme

iTunes

Logo links back to homepage

throughout all pages of the website should be uniformed using the same colour scheme and displaying the company logo.

Adverts may also be used on the website to gain advertising revenue that may be neccessary to run the site, but these must be placed in a way that wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t break up the flow of a webpage or distract the user. Subtitles linking to other pages Use of White Space

Self rotating graphic detailing features

Clear simplistic layout, only one image

PAGE DESIGN

Amazon

Related links and subtitles restricted to the 1st & 3rd column

Spotify

Logo navigates back to homepage

Logo linking to main Amazon homepage

A number of titles and subtitles linking pages

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;My Accountâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tools in the corner

Thumbnails linking to music for download

Account tools: sign-up/login

Neat, precise layout of boxes

New music information box

Logo displayed in corner of addtional webpages navigates to homepage

PAGE DESIGN

Last FM

Titles for website navigation

‘Start your profile’ button

Live feed of ‘People listening right now’

3rd party Advertisement

Neat two column layout Copyright information and additional links at bottom

Summary of Page Design The Spotify website has a simple design and is there to persuade users to download the desktop app, its one of the better designed websites because it focuses on its main objective without overloading the site visitor. The Amazon MP3 website has a less clear design, a large number of titles and sub headings make the page appear full and hard to navigate. iTunes also has simple website with clear subheadings for each part of the website, bold titles and large images are used which make navigating the site easier. Last FM has all of its content focused in the middle of the page so that the viewer’s eyes can easily scan the website for the relevant information.

NAVIGATION AND STRUCTURE

Navigation & Structure Navigation and Structure of Web Design Website navigation is defined as the science and skill which is applied to a web site that helps visitors move from one page to another. This is achieved through tool bars, navigational menus and side bars. The structure of the site is how the website content is laid out. This gives a look and a feel to the website that allows visitors to browse and navigate around. Many visitors to websites tend to browse the homepage quickly. This is to try and get a feel of the website while also being interested in seeing whether there is any reason to stay and go deeper into the site. Website visitors want to find their required information efficiently and clearly without distractions within the website. Therefore it is important for navigation and structure to go hand in hand in order to create a great web experience for the visitors. This is achieved through easy to use navigation with a wellstructured layout and useful content without and irrelevant distractions.

Analysis There are three types of site structure Sequences: these are the easiest to understand and are usually formatted chronologically, numerically or classified by genre Hierarchies: these follow the layout of a single homepage which then provides links and hyperlinks to subtopic menu pages. These are arranged by category and sub categories in layers which make information easier to find for browsers. Webs: this structure uses webpage information association. This uses the free flow structure with little arrangement. The dense and unstructured layout of information makes it harder to navigate as users may get lost.

NAVIGATION AND STRUCTURE

INTERACTION

Interaction “Interaction helps to engage web site visitors by giving them some twoway communications plus greater involvement and control over their web experience.” (Chaffey, 2012) Basic Interactive Mechanisms: • A simple mouse click on an image or an arrow to mind more information or to look at the next item in the sequence (mouse event) • Placing the mouse over a text menu option may give feedback by changing colour of the text (mouse rollover)

Amazon Drop Down Box

• Selection from drop-down boxes • Drag and drop • Typing requirements into a box and then searching through a catalogue • Slider, same choice, small, medium or large Interaction helping customers FAQ’s Newsletters Customer feedback On-site search engines Voucher system Incentives (i.e. Bulk buying, Buy it now, order before).

iTunes Drop Down Box

INTERACTION

Summary of Interaction e

INTERACTION

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions & Recommendations Market Situation

The market for music downloads and streaming has been growing, recently there has been a shift from ownership to access which has led to more people using streaming services as apposed to paying for indiviual downloads. An issue for the market is the large amount of pirated material, stricter enforcement of copyright laws will eventually combat the effects of piracy

Navigation Data & Segmentation

Music downloading and streaming is more popular among the younger generation as they use technology much more often. Streaming is becoming increasingly popular among older people as they are able to listen to material that may be harder to gain elsewhere.

The Objectives of Website Design

The purpose of the Amazon and iTunes websites are to sell downloads to the consumer. Spotify and Last FM offer consumers free services as well as paid options, users my choose to upgrade from the free versions if they want to make use of the mobile apps.

Online Value Proposition

Itunes offers an easy to use interface that is compatable with all Apple devices, Amazon MP3 is compatable with any MP3 player and also has a wide range of tracks. Spotify allows you to stream music for free saving you money and memory.

Customer Orientation

iTunes, Last FM and Spotify all have simple and easy to use websites, iTunes and Spotify also have high quality apps which are easy to use. Amazon MP3 is harder to use because of its poor layout.

Dynamic Design & Personalisation

Amazon welcomes users when they sign in, displaying their name at the top. All of the other three sites have recommendations for users based on their tastes.

Aesthetics & Page Design

iTunes and Spotify have the easiest to look at sites, making good use of white space and imagry. Last FM has a basic site that isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exciting for the user and Amazon has a poor layout.

Navigation & Structure

Spotify has a banner along the top that can be seen even when scrolling making navigation easier. iTunes has clear menus that can be navigated easily

Interaction

Last FM and iTunes both have search bars that can be used to find information quickly. Interactive adverts on the Last FM site allows users to navigate to an external which generates Last FM advertising revenue.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

iTunes Site Weaknesses

The website is extremely minimalist, whilst this can be pleasing on the eye, it can make consumers work too hard to find the information they are looking for. The iTunes website doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow consumers to download music unless they install the desktop application, this could discourage the less technically savvy consumers as they may worry about installing anything to their computer.

Potential Improvements

webpages could remain minimalist but have interactive buttons that users can press to load more information without changing pages. Apple could make it possible for people to make purchases without installing iTunes, this would help to gain more casual music downloaders who may not have a need for the app

What does the future hold for them

Apple is currently the market leader and has a strong reputation in the music downloads market. Apple needs to keep hold of its current customers who may be tempted by cheaper retailers, care must be taken to not make changes with may irritate iTunes current users.

Amazon MP3

Site Weaknesses

The website has a poor layout, because Amazon MP3 is a branch of Amazon it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have an independant site but is instead contained within the main site. The layout is hard to follow with lots of different headings and thumbnails.

Potential Improvements

A much clearer layout is needed to make the site easier to use, more colour could help to separate sections of the page and make information easier to see. Amazon could also choose to make its MP3 business completely separate with its own website, this would help them to make a more visually pleasing site. Amazon also needs to do more to get people to download its mobile and desktop applications, raising awareness of the benefits of each app could help them achieve more downloads.

What does the future hold for them

Amazon is one of the largest online retailers and sells products falling under many categories, Amazon MP3 is a strong competitor in the music downloads market but could achieve a larger market share if it takes steps to make the purchasing process easier for consumers.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Spotify Site Weaknesses

The main problem with Spotify for the user would be not having much of a homepage. Instead Spotify is used through downloading a desktop application or android, iPhone and Blackberry application. Within its free package users experience adverts and pop ups. These may become very repetitive and interrupt the listening experience. Spotify only works when there is Wi-Fi or internet connection because it relies on streaming data.

Potential Improvements

Spotify should create a better homepage base were users can visit to share and interact with other users without needing a Facebook, twitter or wajam account in the forums and discussion boards. The adverts experienced within the free package need to be as varied as possible so that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t become repetitive and alienate customers. Currently whatever the user is listening to can be seen and accessed by other users on Facebook or twitter, Instead there should be stricter regulations offering the user more control on who can see their listening habits and history.

What does the future hold for them

Spotify are a popular music streaming and downloading company. Their availability over all platforms helps users have access to their account anywhere and at any time. The introduction of 4g internet speeds will help the streaming and downloading onto Spotify. This will make downloading and streaming even quicker and easier for users. The digital age is intensifying with more digital migrants joining in with digital natives. This means more people are becoming aware of the internet and internet applications. Spotify should tap into the 50+ market by creating Spotify Classic to simply cater to that market and specifically provide music from their era for ÂŁ4.99 a month. The Tween market is ever-growing with more younger children having smartphones, laptops and mp3s therefore having Spotify for tweens and teenagers primarily providing music in that genre will help safeguard the future. With increased internet piracy and free music available to users for free spotify needs to reward its existing customers for even paying by giving them value for money, more music updates and free benefits. To safe guard the future Spotify need to evolve with the times and compete with other streaming providers by obtaining partnerships with other businesses such as Google and Microsoft to further what Spotify do.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Last FM Site Weaknesses

“Last.fm is a music recommendation service. You use Last.fm by signing up and downloading The Scrobbler, which helps you discover more music based on the songs you play.” (LastFM, 2012), upon joining the website the first problem I found was that the design and presentation of the website seemed very basic and also looked very cluttered. The second problem I found was that the site seemed to be very hard to navigate this is probably due to the cluttered site, it took me a while to find what I wanted and sometimes I would find myself saying “what just happened” “how did I get here” or “I didn’t want to do that” this very quickly became frustrating. Lastly, I also thought that some of the text was too small, this made it hard to find things because you can easily miss them, which again adds into the hard to navigate point.

Potential Improvements

The first thing I realised when I was having trouble was the lack of a ‘help’ button, however there was one there it was just hard to see with it being a very small and tucked in the corner. So the first recommendation I would suggest would be to have either a bigger, more prominent ‘help’ button, or even to have a tutorial when you first sign up, so as to teach new customers how to navigate through the site and find what they want with no trouble. Another way to improve would be perhaps for them to spend a bit of money revamping their website design, at the moment it seems basic and cluttered so if they were willing to splash some cash they could make it more attractive and easier to manoeuvre.

What does the future hold for them

In terms of the future, I do not see much growth for LastFM, with Apple’s iTunes dominating the market and it’s only real competitor being Amazon, every other music download site has a measly few % or less in the overall market share, and according to IFPI’s digital music report 2012 “There are around 500 legitimate music services worldwide offering up to 20 million tracks”. So it would take a stretch of the imagination to think LastFM could do anything in the near future to put themselves ahead of the pack, so in LastFM’s future I see them being I near enough the same position for the foreseeable future.

REFERENCES

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REFERENCES

References

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