How Much Does It Cost to Make A Music App?
Music plays an integral part in our lives and listening to it, has become a lot easier. In the old times, a cassette player, a CD player, or a Walkman was necessary to listen to music. Then times changed, and Apple came up with the famous iPod. That grew old, and now people can listen to music through simple streaming apps on their smartphones. The accessibility of music has made our lives heavily dependent on it.
According to Statista, currently, there are 544 million users in the music streaming segment. This number is expected to shoot up to 900 million by 2025. These stats clearly show the increasing trend in music streaming.
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There is an evident upward trend in the music streaming industry. Statista further claims that the revenue from music streaming in 2020 was a little less than $10 billion and that there have been around 40 million downloads of music apps from the Google Play Store alone, to date. This shows great potential in investing in the industry. The best way to invest these days is to create an app. The costs incurred in developing a music app are variable and are dependent on multiple factors. Read further to find out what these factors are.
How do music streaming apps work?
Right now, the top music streaming apps in the market are Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Pandora. These apps run on all operating systems such as iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac. More or less, all the music apps have the same basic features. Each user has a separate account which he/she can log in to and search from list millions of songs. They can create their own playlists. In the premium versions, users are allowed to download the music for listening to it when they are offline.
So, what will be the cost to make a music app?
Typical factors which influence the cost can be broken down into two broad categories:
- Design and Development
The app’s design includes working on both the User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX). Both should be designed in the most optimal way possible to increase customer satisfaction. The average designing cost will be around $5,000.
Development refers to the programming that needs to be done to make the app functional. That includes front end and back end development. In order to estimate the cost, the features that need to be kept in mind while developing a typical music app are mentioned below:
- Registration/Sign-in
Users are able to create their profiles. Existing users can sign-in to the app. An option for automatic sign-in is also included for regular users so that they do not have to perform the repetitive task every time.
- User Profiles
Once the users are on the app’s main screen, they can view and edit their own profiles. They can save the songs they like, in the favourites section. They can also create playlists.
- Search and Filter songs
Users are able to search songs from all the content available on the server. An added feature in this can be a sort and filter option.
- Live Chatbox
Communication with each other is possible with the live chat option. People can discuss their favourite songs with each other. This option is made available only in the premium version of the app.
- Sharing and Recommendations
The app can be linked to social media, or users can have their own friend list specific to the app. Either way, there is an option to share songs and playlists with friends and also to recommend good pieces.
- Option to download songs
Users can save their favourite songs to the local storage of their device. This allows them to listen even if they are not connected to the internet. This option is made available only in the premium version of the app.
- Switch to premium
Users with the basic version of the app can switch to a premium version any time. They can also avail a seven-day free trial after entering their payment details.
The development cost for an app with all the features mentioned above will be around $15,000 to $20,000 for each operating system, i.e., iOS, Android, Windows and Mac.
- Licensing, Marketing and Monetization
After the app is developed, you should make it your top priority to ensure that all the content you add is legal. Any illegal content on the app can have detrimental effects on your business and its reputation. You could be punished in the court of law. Thus, obtaining licenses, such as the Public Performance Rights License, is crucial from relevant agencies. A small fee is also paid to famous artists who share their exclusive content with the app creators.
Once you have obtained copyrights and made sure that your content is legal, you can put your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) out in the market. Use Search Engine Optimization services, keyword marketing, and paid advertising, so that your app starts appearing on top in the relevant searches. Once, people start using the app; you can obtain their feedback through reviews and find out what more features you can add. The cost will then go up accordingly.
Licensing will cost you around $1,000 annually if you’re part of a business, or $200 annually if you’re working on an individual project. Marketing costs can significantly vary depending on the level you desire. Share your app idea with us here, and we will give you an estimate.
The money invested in a music app can quickly be recovered, along with vast amounts of profit. The ways to monetize the app include:
- Charging the customers for subscriptions and premium accounts
- Charging different firms for advertisements in the form of banners on your app
- Charging small scale artists or beginners to put their app on your app
Conclusion
Based on the costs mentioned above, we can sum it all up by saying that developing a music app will cost you somewhere between $30,000 to $50,000. However, this range can vary according to your needs. We recommend that you discuss your app idea with an expert here, to know precisely what you’re getting into and the costs involved.
