The AMI Music app allows patrons to control AMI digital jukeboxes directly from their smartphones, selecting songs to play in real-time at bars, restaurants, and other venues. This unique capability offers a modern, convenient way for consumers to engage with music in social settings, putting the jukebox experience at their fingertips and encouraging more personalized entertainment. Today, the app has over 2.3 million users, connects with 30,000 jukeboxes around the globe, and generates over $5 million in recurring monthly revenue.
Origin
The AMI Music app was designed for convenient, cashless interaction with jukeboxes, making it ideal for crowded venues. Its journey began in 2012 as a hybrid application for Android and iOS.
While hybrid apps allowed for cross-platform compatibility, they often fell short in performance. The reliance on a combination of web technologies and native components resulted in sluggish download times, primarily due to the extensive use of custom assets.
This proved particularly problematic in bars and restaurants with spotty 3G or 4G coverage. So, while patrons were excited by the idea of controlling the jukebox from their phones, lengthy download times often dampened that enthusiasm.
Version 2.0
In 2013, a decision was made to transition to a fully native application for both Android and iOS. This shift significantly enhanced performance and reduced download times, resulting in a more optimized user experience. Additionally, by leveraging the specific design elements of each platform, AMI engineers gained the flexibility to create screens independently, reducing their reliance on the creative team for assets. However, while this approach prioritized fast delivery, it came at the expense of user experience. The app began to lack visual coherence and suffered from excessive wasted space.
About This Review
The purpose of this UX Review is to highlight an initiative I led to address the shortcomings described above by taking on the role of lead UI/UX designer and guiding 3.0 development. I will outline the changes implemented to enhance the app’s user experience, aiming to make it more user-centric and easier to use.
Every design project starts with a clear understanding of the problems that need to be addressed. In reviewing the AMI Music app, I identified three critical issues:
Lack of cohesion: The company’s decision to develop most screens without visual blueprints resulted in a lack of a source of truth for the app’s design. With no established reference for the app's appearance, inconsistencies became prevalent throughout. Elements such as navigation bars, buttons, icons, font sizes, and spacing varied significantly from screen to screen.
Non-compliance with platform guidelines: While the app aimed to present a native experience, it fell short of current iOS and Google design guidelines, leading to instances where elements characteristic of one platform appeared on the other. Additionally, the visual design of the app suffered from excessive wasted space.
Complicated user navigation: User journey mapping revealed that many users faced an unnecessarily complicated navigation process, often requiring 7 to 8 interactions to complete a music selection transaction.
UX Research for Version 3.0
While I had a strong understanding of the challenges facing the AMI Music app based on my experience, validating these assumptions through user research was crucial. I approached the research from multiple angles:
Usage Data Analysis: I began by studying data on how users interacted with the app. One notable discovery was that a significant number of users navigated through Account Settings to play music. Specifically, they accessed their Account, then Payments, and under Previous Transactions, they found songs they had previously played. This indicated a clear need for a Recently Played menu.
User Cohorts and Surveys: To gain deeper insights, we created cohorts of users based on their engagement levels: "whales" (those who played the most), regular users, and lapsed users. We sent surveys to these groups to gather valuable information, including a wish list of desired improvements. Additionally, we inquired about their interest in participating in a beta version of the new app.
Engagement with Customer Support: I also spoke with the AMI customer support team, who were on the front lines, hearing directly from users experiencing difficulties with the app. Their insights were invaluable in understanding common pain points and user frustrations.
Insights Gained
User research revealed several opportunities for improvement:
Users wanted fewer steps to select music and easier access to favorite tracks.
Simplifying playlist creation and management was a frequent request.
Users sought quick ways to find popular songs when unsure of what to play.
Easier wallet reloading and options to earn free credits were common requests.
Common issues included confusion around bonus credits and accidentally choosing the wrong location to play music at.
Version 3.0 Design
After reviewing the research findings with the product management team, we agreed that the overall goal should be simplification and speed—reducing steps to make every action faster and more intuitive. This included:
Simplifying account creation.
Removing all friction from adding funds.
Ensuring users could play a song within three steps.
Using Zeplin, create a source of truth for how the app should look
Using Sketch, I created a new design focused on simplicity and speed, streamlining the user interface to reduce the steps needed for all core actions.
Onboarding Screens
Since the app was consistently promoted within venues on jukebox screens, posters, and table cards, I streamlined onboarding to a brief introduction and a location services request, enabling users to quickly find nearby jukeboxes to control.
Account Creation and Sign-In
To enhance user comfort and interest prior to account creation, the updated design enables non-signed-in users to explore available locations and their music libraries. To streamline onboarding, account creation was simplified to require only an email and password, with support for Apple and Facebook sign-ins to provide additional convenience.
Adding Funds
Similar to inserting a dollar bill into a jukebox, the app requires funds for song purchases, but these funds can be used across multiple visits and venues. To ensure a fast and efficient experience for users, I implemented several strategies: incorporating alternative payment methods like Apple Pay and PayPal to ease concerns about providing credit card information; enabling the app to remember previous purchases and payment methods for frictionless repeat transactions; and offering an option for automatic fund replenishment when balances drop below a specified threshold.
Music Main Menu
Once a venue was selected, the main menu would display widgets for quick access to various features, including the music queue, music search, recently played tracks, interactive advertisements, popular artists, trending songs, discounted albums, and curated playlists.
The addition of the recently played feature was a key insight from the UX research, ultimately surpassing the search function as the most used method for music selection post-release.
Sample Sub-Menues
Widgets presented on the main menu would all link to sub-menus that provide expanded views of the content suggested.
Song Purchases
Song and music video purchases would be facilitated through custom action sheets and alerts. As noted earlier, the objective was to enable users to play a song within three touches. To achieve this, features such as “My Recent Plays” and “Popular at this Venue” would offer instant access to playable content.
Earning Bonus Credits
Song purchases made during a single visit allowed users to earn bonus credits, which could be redeemed at any time, but only at the location where the purchases were made. This feature, which had been part of earlier app versions, often confused users. To address this, I created a custom alert box that clarified the bonus credit system and highlighted where credits were still available for use.
Searching For Music
The search function was redesigned to offer significantly quicker access to content by incorporating features that remember users' previous searches. Additionally, songs matching would feature one-touch access, enabling users to play those selections instantly.
My Music
With millions of songs in the catalog, “My Music” would enable users to quickly access and play their favorites through two methods. First, users would be able easily add songs to a favorites list (My Songs), bypassing the typical playlist creation steps. Second, the app would support custom playlist creation.
Multi-Song Selection
Among the new features of the app would be the ability to perform multi-song selections, allowing the user to queue up multiple songs through a single transaction.
Account Management
Accessed via an account icon positioned in the top-right of most screens, the updated "My Account" menu would provide access to all account-related functions and settings.
User Feedback
Eight months into development, a beta was ready for distribution. Invites were sent to over 1,000 users along with access to a questionnaire. We were thrilled with the results.
85% had a positive experience and offering additional input used for final improvements.
99% found onboarding simple.
75% appreciated one-touch access to "My Recent Plays" and "Songs Trending Here."
74% valued easier access to their favorite browsing options.
55% found fund-adding faster, with 24% enabling Auto-Reload.
Final Result
The redesigned AMI Music app surpassed expectations, hitting a major milestone with weekly transactions reaching $1 million and monthly mobile plays soaring to 6 million. Additionally, unique purchasers—users making at least one song purchase per month through the app—increased by 33%, reflecting the success of our user-centric approach.
By simplifying navigation, speeding up sign-ups, and streamlining core functions, we created an app that not only met our goals but also resonated with users, driving growth in engagement and revenue.
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