INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC CASE · GSOM SPBU
PRODUCT STRATEGY / MUSIC DISCOVERY
Spotify.
Helping listeners find new music while keeping the ease of personalized streaming.
Product hypothesis and analysis, not a Spotify feature launch
Product strategyMusic discoveryMetrics
CONCEPT · GENRE DISCOVERY PATH
From intent to a new sound
- 01Choose a genre or mood
- 02Get a personalized path
- 03Explore with control
COMPANY CONTEXT · Q3 2026
Spotify's reported scale for context. These are not outcomes of the proposed feature.
PRODUCT OPPORTUNITY
A vast catalog. How can a listener quickly find what they want to hear?
The challenge is not a lack of music. Listeners who want to explore a genre or find something adjacent to their taste may not always have a clear starting point in search and existing recommendations. This is a hypothesis to validate, not a claim that Spotify’s algorithms fail.
WHO IT MAY HELP
Two listening modes, different expectations
Music explorers
Listen often, know their preferences and want to find new artists without manually searching catalogs.
Routine listeners
Play music while commuting, working or exercising. They value a fast start and minimal setup.
USER JOBS
Three situations where discovery should help
01When I want to explore a genre, help me find a starting point without building a playlist from scratch.
02When recommendations feel familiar, show me something adjacent to my taste but new.
03When I have little time, give me a relevant path with minimal effort.
RESEARCH PLAN
Understand the listening context before choosing a mechanic
The case defines a validation plan. No interviews or Spotify internal data analysis were conducted.
8–12 conversations
Ask about the last successful and unsuccessful discovery session; clarify what people mean by new music.
Path to listening
Compare search, playlists and recommendation entry points; examine repeat artists, saves and session continuation.
Two modes
Compare active music explorers with listeners who want a quick background start.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
A genre path listeners can steer
A lightweight entry by genre or intent starts a personalized sequence. It mixes familiar tracks, adjacent artists and more surprising finds. Listeners can save, hide or follow artists as they go.
Low friction
Start exploring in a few actions.
Personal context
Use listening taste, not static charts.
Controlled novelty
Balance familiar, adjacent and new.
Reversible
Make it easy to return to familiar recommendations.
MVP BOUNDARIES
A focused test instead of a major product rebuild
IN THE MVP
- Genre selection and a small set of curated entry points
- One personalized path for the selected genre
- Save, hide and follow artist actions
- A short explanation of why a track appears
- Events to measure discovery and downstream listening
OUT OF SCOPE
- A new social network
- Creator marketplace
- Collaborative playlists
- A complete rebuild of recommendations
HYPOTHESES & EXPERIMENTS
Measure meaningful discovery, not minutes alone
If users choose a genre, more sessions may end in a meaningful discovery action.
TEST: compare a genre path entry with the current flow. Primary read: discovery actions per eligible session.A mix of familiar, adjacent and new tracks may help listeners continue and save new music.
TEST: compare novelty balance; track continuation, saves and return behaviour.Quick relevance feedback may help future paths better match user intent.
TEST: add lightweight feedback and measure usage and subsequent recommendation quality.MEASUREMENT
Count meaningful discoveries and protect experience quality
NORTH STAR CANDIDATE
Weekly Meaningful Discovery Listeners
Unique weekly listeners who, after entering discovery, take a meaningful action with an artist or track they have not engaged with recently. Agree on the novelty window and qualifying action with analytics before testing.
Eligible users exposed to the entry point
Users who start a genre path
Saves, follows, hides and skips
Repeat discovery and downstream listening
Total Listening Time is useful as a supporting metric, not a sole goal: a longer session alone does not show that someone found music they value.
VALIDATION SEQUENCE
From the first question to expansion
- 01 / First
Interviews and baseline
Clarify the job, entry scenarios and baseline metrics.
- 02 / Then
Limited MVP
Test the genre entry and personalized path with a limited audience.
- 03 / After a signal
Novelty test
Compare recommendation mixes and identify actions that reflect value.
- 04 / If validated
Expand
Add genres and improve personalization after quality metrics hold.
ECONOMIC LOGIC
Value may show up through habit and retention
Spotify combines Premium subscriptions and advertising. Better discovery could strengthen perceived value, engagement and return habits. This is a causal chain to test, not a calculated outcome of this case.
RISKS & TRADE-OFFS
Keep discovery fresh without losing relevance
Narrow genre labels
Genre names may not match how people describe their taste.
Filter bubble
Overusing listening history can narrow discovery.
Novelty fatigue
Too many unfamiliar tracks can reduce continuation.
Time-on-platform bias
Optimizing minutes without discovery quality misses the goal.