Product designer

Challenge

As passionate music enthusiasts, the co-founders of Inspire by Sound recognized a shift in how new artists were breaking through during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2022). Key challenges and observations included:

• Blog Fatigue: Traditional music blogs were facing reader fatigue and often lacked a distinctive voice, blending into a sea of similar content. Which in the coming year many closed operations.
• Diluted Quality: The rapid pace of trends and the pressure to stay relevant sometimes overshadowed the quality and authenticity of emerging artists.
• Social Media: Social media platforms increasingly felt like advertising hubs, making genuine music discovery more challenging.
• Lack of Purpose: Many new music podcasts seemed driven by popularity contests rather than a genuine appreciation for the art and the artist’s inspiration.

Around this time there was a desire among listeners to learn more about the undiscovered artists beyond just their music, their backgrounds, inspirations, and creative processes. In addition, people were also looking for new podcast ventures or tv shows to stay busy.

APPROACH

The core strategy for Inspire by Sound was to create an engaging audio experience that mirrored the depth and information found in a quality music blog, enhanced by the intimacy of a podcast format:

• The “Audio Blog” Concept: Each weekly episode was structured like a blog post come to life. It featured a curated mix of tracks from an undiscovered artist within a specific genre, interspersed with narration detailing the artist’s origin, inspirations, musical journey, and other insightful details. This provided context and fostered a deeper connection with the music.
• Genre Diversity: To maintain listener engagement and broaden musical horizons, each week’s episode focused on a different genre, spanning funk, house, soul, rock, indie rock, Brazilian funk, Latin music, pop, and more.
• Branding: Co-founder Victor spearheaded the creation of compelling visual concepts and logos for each season, enhancing the podcast’s overall aesthetic and appeal.
• Accessible Playlists: Recognizing that listeners might want to quickly access the featured music, curated playlists were created and made available on popular platforms like Apple Music and Spotify, allowing for easy discovery and listening outside the podcast.
• Community Collaboration: To offer diverse perspectives and engage the audience, the podcast incorporated collaborations with local artists, DJs, and listeners. These guests shared their personal inspirations, discussed how the featured playlists influenced their own creative processes, and offered their unique musical tastes.
• Focus on the Undiscovered: A strict rule was implemented to feature artists with a monthly listener count below 200,000 (with rare exceptions for truly deserving artists who hadn’t yet broken through). This commitment to highlighting truly undiscovered talent was a core differentiator.

outcome

Inspire by Sound rapidly gained traction and achieved significant recognition within the podcasting landscape:

The podcast reached the Top 200 in the Music category on podcast charts in 2020 and the Top 800 overall, demonstrating its popularity and impact.

The podcast garnered attention from listeners and musicians worldwide, receiving submissions from artists in China, Colombia, and the UK eager to be featured.

Local DJs and music enthusiasts actively sought opportunities to be featured as guest speakers, sharing their musical insights and inspirations.

The podcast remains available on all major podcast streaming platforms, and listeners continue to express their desire for the show’s return, highlighting its unique niche it filled. There is a vision to incorporate video elements in future productions to further enhance listener engagement and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the show’s creation.

Credits

Additional roles