WAV Media
WAV Media
WAV Media
WAV Media is a music and tech startup founded by NAVER, a leading South Korean tech company. WAV is designed as a digital creative community that empowers independent artists to create content, collaborate, and interact with fans through exclusive experiences.
For this project, my role was to bring this creation to life, from research, wireframing, prototyping, & delivering the designs to development.
WAV Media is a music and tech startup built for independent artists. Founded by parent company NAVER, one of South Korea’s top tech companies, WAV Media is a digital creative community with a shared love for music, WAV enables users to create engaging content, collaborate with others and interact through exclusive experiences. For this project, my role was to bring this creation to life, from research, wireframing, prototyping, & delivering the designs to development.
WAV Media is a music and tech startup built for independent artists. Founded by parent company NAVER, one of South Korea’s top tech companies, WAV Media is a digital creative community with a shared love for music, WAV enables users to create engaging content, collaborate with others and interact through exclusive experiences. For this project, my role was to bring this creation to life, from research, wireframing, prototyping, & delivering the designs to development.
The Problem
The music industry has long exploited artists, limiting their growth and connection to fans. WAV Media sought to reverse this by putting artists first, offering the tools and benefits needed for career growth and community interaction. The initial app was limited to a small pool of curated artists, restricting content and user engagement. The goal was to scale the platform to support all emerging artists and foster a self-sustaining community.
The Research
Identify artists’ challenges in growing their careers and determine what fans seek in a music discovery app that current platforms do not offer.
Methods & Platforms
Qualitative Research: Conducted interviews with artists and usability studies using Usertesting.com.
Quantitative Research: Used Amplitude for data analytics to measure clickthrough rates and track user behavior.
A/B Testing: Continuously tested features to optimize user experience and engagement.
Key Insights
1. Artists needed tools to express themselves creatively while building an audience.
2. Fans desired more intimate and exclusive content that allowed deeper connections with artists.
3. Existing music discovery platforms lacked innovative features that promoted new talent effectively.
How might we support the artist journey while still providing engaging content?
Opportunity
Create a Community
Build an engaging platform where artists could innovate and express themselves, and fans could experience an intimate connection similar to a small-venue performance.
Enhance Content Creation
Optimize the content posting process and introduce exclusive tools like a custom music visualizer.
Artist Management
Develop tools for artists to manage their brand and content while leveraging audience insights.
Career Development
Establish partnerships with media outlets, events, and distribution channels to aid artist career growth.
Design Solutions
Given our very short timeline and constrains, We had to propose alternative options to meet deadlines for our launch. One of the biggest reasons why we were successful was the detailed communication with the engineering team. Our headquarters and engineering team works out in NAVER HQ in South Korea, so the time difference and language barrier created a specific challenge that we had to overcome
Home
Problem:
The original home feed did not effectively showcase content or help users discover new material.
Solution:
Redesigned the home feed to highlight high-quality content at the top, followed by shortcuts for navigation and dynamic modules tailored to users’ preferences. The updated modules provided a balanced mix of popular content and personalized suggestions.
Custom Reacting Visualizers
Challenge:
Independent artists often lack resources for digital video creation.
Solution:
Developed a first-of-its-kind sound-reacting visualizer tool that allowed artists to upload their music and generate engaging visual content. This tool positioned WAV as a unique platform for up-and-coming artists.
Creator Management
Features:
Built a creator dashboard where artists could track earnings from digital gifts (with an 80/20 split) and withdraw their earnings through a connected PayPal account.
Impact:
Empowered artists by giving them full control of their financials, fostering transparency and trust.
Final Results & Impact
Compelling Content Creation: The introduction of tools like the music visualizer significantly boosted artist engagement and content uploads.
Improved Discoverability: The dynamic home feed and personalized content recommendations helped users find relevant music more efficiently.
Career Growth: Partnerships and management tools provided artists with more opportunities for exposure and development.
User Feedback: Positive feedback highlighted the platform’s ability to bridge the gap between artists and their fans, providing an experience more engaging than typical streaming services.
Lessons Learned
Challenges: Overcoming the time zone and language barriers with the South Korea-based engineering team required clear communication strategies and regular syncs.
Takeaways: User-centric tools and a clear, interactive design system foster both user satisfaction and efficient development.
Next Steps: Continued iteration on artist development features and integrating new collaborative tools.