This document discusses expanding SoundCloud's market by focusing on online radio. It identifies two main user types - audio creators and audiences. Research shows online radio is growing, with Pandora being the major competitor. Pandora's weaknesses include a lack of social features and custom playlists. SoundCloud could target radio creators by making it easy to set up online radio stations and audiences by integrating radio and music discovery. Tests are proposed to validate this hypothesis, including surveys, focus groups and prototype interviews. Insights would inform features like radio widgets, DJ tagging and local recommendations. Marketing would promote the radio community while partnerships could expand reach. The goal is to make all radio and music discovery accessible within SoundCloud.

1. Latest Market Research on Market Expansion
Ines Chen

2. Two types of users
Audio Creators
Audio creators(artists, bands,
podcasters and ordinary people)
who provide the content for self-
promotion or sharing. (They also
act as the audience using the site
to interact with others.)
Audience
Users who listen to the
audio files, give comments
and share audio files on
SoundCloud community or
Facebook.

3. Contents
1. Which vertical should we focus on?
2. How will I test my hypothesis?
3. How can we apply the insights?

4. Which vertical should we
focus on?

5. The future is
already here.
It's just not very
evenly distributed.
- William Gibson

6. ((The new era of radio))
has already arrived.

7. Why radio?

8. U.S. online radio market size
In 2013,
•Online radio is expected to generate 827
million U.S. dollars in revenue.
•67.4 % of the U.S. internet users will have
become online radio users by 2016.
In 2012,
•46.76 million Americans used such services.
•Tuned in 9 hours 46 minutes every week.
Sources: http://www.statista.com/topics/1348/online-radio

9. Market
Share
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/253260/leading-online-radio-companies-in-the-us-by-active-sessions/

10. • 8.5 % of all radio listening
time in the U.S. in Feb 2013
• The highest rate of awareness
and broadest reach among
similar online services in 2012
Mayor
Competitor:
Pandora
Source: http://www.statista.com/topics/1349/pandora/

11. Pandora’s competitive analysis
Strength
1. Self tailored music station
supported by its algorithm
2. Automated music
recommendation based on
collective user feedback
1. Unable to create and share
your own playlist
2. No social feature: “follow &
discover”
3. Limited social media
integration.
4. No playlist created by artists
and influencers
5. Lukewarm relationship with
music industry and artists
6. Service limited in 3 countries
Weakness

12. Pandora’s weakness
 SoundCloud’s strength
1. Easily create and share your own playlist
2. Strong social media & social network integration:
follow & discover artists
3. Many playlists created by artists and influencers
4. Strong relationship with music industry and artists
5. Global service

13. Potential market for SoundCloud
Steal market share by
positioning SoundCloud as
a social stream music site
Maximize SoundCloud’s
advantage: the largest
community of creators
of music & audio
Complement
traditional radio
station’s weakness

15. 80/20 Rule
Reuse existing features to solve
“new” problems & add more value

16. Radio creators’ problems & needs
• Enhance reach and awareness
• Get to know their audience
and feedbacks  improve the
content & target radio ads
Source: http://www.radioworld.com/article/can-soundcloud-help-your-station/218135
• High costs to cover the
bandwidth and servers
• No know-how about
setting up a radio
Creators: 1. Existing traditional radio stations
2. People who want to set up an online radio station.
Problems Needs

17. Audience’s problems & needs
Problems Needs
1. Radio services can’t help
them search for new music.
2. Online music sites can’t give
expert’s opinion on music
and provide info about what
others are listening to.
3. Annoying ads or paid
subscription services
1. Curiosity about the artist’s
and band’s information
2. Curiosity about what friends
& others think of songs,
talks, and radio content
3. Use mobile phones to listen
to radio
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/239702/social-engagement-while-
listening-to-internet-radio-in-the-us/
The Role of Digital Audio in the Evolution of Music Discovery
(http:www.cdn.targetspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/TargetSpot-
Inc_Music- Discovery_WhitePaper_2011.pdf)

18. Source: The Role of Digital Audio in the Evolution of
Music Discovery
(http:www.cdn.targetspot.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/10/TargetSpot-Inc_Music-

19. Based on TargetSpot Research & my observation…
38-42% of people “discover
new music” via online radios
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/253409/reasons-for-using-online-radio/
The Role of Digital Audio in the Evolution of Music Discovery: http://www.cdn.targetspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/TargetSpot-Inc_Music-
Discovery_WhitePaper_2011.pdf

20. Reuse existing features to solve
radio creators’ problems
Easily create an online radio program anywhere & anytime.
Enhance the interaction between
DJs and their audience.
Social media & network integration
Affordable Pro plan with
comprehensive analytics
Source: http://www.radioworld.com/article/can-soundcloud-help-your-station/218135

21. Adding value to existing creators
Act as a radio station sharing knowledge about music via
their music radios or radio shows and expand their audience.

22. Solve audience’s problems:
Radio + MusicSoundCloud app
[2 in 1]: Radio + Music
in SoundCloud app
•Convenience: listening to
radio, discover, and search for
new music at one site
•Insights: radio hosts & DJs
provide great sharing of music
and artists.

23. People matters. People like to have
interactions and a company; time
spent on radio program is longer.
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/253292/role-of-the-radio-in-the-lives-of-us-consumers-by-age/
http://www.statista.com/statistics/252204/weekly-time-spent-listening-to- the-radio-in-the-us-by-age-and-gender/

24. Listening to radio is a habitual behavior.
 Increasing user engagement & connection

25. Hypothesis
Having the online radio vertical, which
enables people listen to radio, discover, and
search for music at one site, would be popular
between radio creators and their audience.

26. Design the research & Test the hypothesis
Get out of the building!

27. Three ways to test the hypothesis
Macro level:
– Online survey
– Focus group interview
Micro level
– Interview with a wireframe demo
Regarding the research plan to choose, it depends on the budget and timeline.

28. Five aspects of online survey
questions
1. Demographic information
2. User’s existing behaviors and approaches toward
using online radio
3. Needs and reasons for using online radio
4. User’s opinion toward our competitor’s sites
5. Factors that influence their decision toward using
online radio service.

29. Gain insights from the focus
group interview
1. Identify patterns
1. Identify the user types
2. Address their specific pain points
3. Explore the possible improvement and solutions
_______ ________ ______ ____ ________
____________
Problem Emotions Process Role Contexts Practical Needs

30. Interview with a wireframe demo
1. Test the understanding of the problem
2. Get customer feedbacks
3. Test the understanding of the solutions
4. Test whether the solution really solves the core
problem of customers
5. Learn the minimum viable features from the initial
stage
Micro Level

31. Conclusion from the research
To answer the five key questions:
Who is our target user?
What do they care about?
When and where will
they use our product?
What features will differentiate our product?

32. Product
Team
Discovery
feature
Radio waveform inserted each song for
users to discover and search for new music
Develop
radio
widgets
Develop easily-used widgets by the
engineering team or third-party
Tag feature DJ’s & host’s names, language, and mood.
Local
feature
Tune Facebook info to identify user’s
place to provide local radio recommendation
New
category
Radio category  various subcategories
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/253292/role-of-the-radio-in-the-lives-of-us-consumers-by-age/
Turn the insights into action

33. Marketing
Team
Social media & blog sharing and promotion
Connect with the radio community
Build up a radio community, e.g. the global radio DJs/
hosts meetup day and meet your local DJs/hosts
Press release for promoting radio features to new users
Community
Team
SouncCloud 101 for radio stations
Event:radio hackathon
Partnership
Team
Cooperate with global & regional radio companies.
Others: car integration
Content
Team
Put radio features at the homepage
Source: http://www.statista.com/statistics/245275/weekday-and-weekend-radio-use-in-the-us-by-location/
Turn the insights into action

34. What kind of impact we
have on our users?

35. From my campus radio to BBC,
from any radio to songs it plays,
the distance is within
“one or two clicks”.

36. Q&A