Amazon Music Design Challenge
Winner, 2025
Role: UX Researcher, Product Designer Duration: One Month (Feb'25-Mar'25)
BeatDrop
a more social way to listen to music - together.
Check out the interactive prototype here!
Project Brief
Design a feature for Amazon Music that increases user engagement and retention.
Overview
This project started with a simple question:
How might we bring back the joy and social connection that make music meaningful?
Music has always been a shared experience.
We listen together in cars, at parties, in dorm rooms—passing around the aux, negotiating what plays next.
But streaming platforms don’t reflect that.
They’re built for individual listening—personalized feeds, private queues, and isolated experiences. Even when people are physically together, the experience is controlled by one person.
This project explores how we might redesign that dynamic—shifting from individual control to collective interaction, and bringing the social energy of music back into the listening experience.
Research & Discovery
The Double Diamond Method
We conducted mixed-method research with 52 participants (ages 18–34), combining surveys and interviews to understand how people engage with music in social settings.
Key Findings from Research
The Core Problem
Music streaming has mastered algorithmic personalization and individual taste but lost its social soul and the shared experiences that make music meaningful
Through research, we found that:
One person typically controls the music in group settings
Others have little input without interrupting the flow
Switching control (passing the phone) creates friction
The experience feels less collaborative than it should
Music brings people together—but the product creates a bottleneck.
The Core Opportunity
The Magic Moment
Imagine this:
You arrive at a friend’s dinner party, where a song in the background quietly brings back a warm summer night you shared not long ago. You scan the QR code and add that song to the playlist. When it plays, the room fills with recognition — music turning personal memory into a shared experience.
This "come-together moment" is the emotional core of BeatDrop, where individual expressions become collective joy.
The Concept
BeatDrop—an AI-powered, collaborative DJ feature
BeatDrop is a collaborative listening feature where a host sets the vibe by starting a new mix and others join instantly to add songs in real time, creating a shared, evolving queue. AI-powered mixing and low-friction onboarding keep the flow seamless and uninterrupted.
Beyond Audio
BeatDrop integrates into Amazon's broader ecosystem of products
BeatDrop extends into the physical space, creating an immersive experience that goes beyond just audio.
The Design
Understanding Our Users
Our research revealed four key personas that shape our solution:
User Flows
Four main flows based off the four user personas
User 1
Starting a session and selecting the vibe
User 2
Joining and contributing to an existing mix
User 3
Influencing the mix with likes and dislikes
User 4
Downloading app to revisit moments
Additional Flows
Television QR code and dynamic artwork display
Guests can scan the QR code displayed on the TV for easy frictionless access and get recognition in the contributor spotlight.
Memory & Retention
BeatDrop allows users to save mixes and track top-liked songs, turning each session into lasting memories they can relive for years to come.
BeatDrop stats shows engagement on saved mixes
Nostalgia driving memory notifications for past mixes created
Testing
Evaluated the concept by conducting usability testing with 15 participants (ages 18–34)
93% expressed strong interest in using BeatDrop, with 40% indicating a willingness to pay for premium features, validating both the desirability and potential value of the feature.
Beyond the numbers, what stood out was how users naturally connected the experience to real-life moments:
Hosts saw it as a way to share control without disrupting the flow
Users valued the ability to capture and revisit meaningful group moments
Many highlighted the appeal of hands-off listening, where the system maintains the vibe for them
These insights reinforced that BeatDrop isn’t just about adding songs to a queue—it’s about making shared listening feel effortless, memorable, and continuous.
What our users had to say:
Design Change
Automix with AI
Testing revealed that not all users were familiar with DJ mixing techniques, so we introduced a “Let AI choose” toggle—lowering the barrier to entry without removing customization for more advanced users.
Impact
BeatDrop turns shared moments into growth. Driving organic acquisition through participation, not promotion, and strengthening retention in the process
Each session becomes an entry point. New users join through shared moments, contribute to the experience, and become part of the ecosystem. This shifts acquisition from paid channels to organic, experience-driven growth.
By turning listening into participation, BeatDrop strengthens engagement at the moment it matters most, when people are together, directly supporting Amazon Music’s long-term retention goals.
Presentation
Sharing final concept with stakeholders at the Amazon Music Office in NYC
Grateful to our mentors from Amazon Music and the teams who joined us both in person and remotely at the Amazon Music offices in NYC for our final presentation! We had the opportunity to share our concept with stakeholders across Design and Research, receiving thoughtful feedback and strong enthusiasm for the feature, and were ultimately selected as the winning concept.
