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There are no more radios, walkmans, and iPods where we would sit for hours looking through music, selecting the songs we liked, then downloading them and paying for them. Technological advancements have changed how we experience streaming music and on-demand music app development. More than 85% of people who love music now utilize music streaming apps such as Spotify, Amazon Music, and many more. They’ve made it simple for users to enjoy diverse music genres with a click and without downloading and sorting data repeatedly.
As you know, Spotify is one of the most discussed music streaming applications. The market for the app is predicted to reach $769 billion in 2027. As of early 2025, it is expected to have over 433 million users, and the number is expected to rise 10 times over the next decade.
It’s pretty impressive.
If you’re planning to create a customized music streaming app for your company, this blog will help you determine the music app development costs and the numerous elements that influence them. Additionally, we’ll examine the multiple aspects of a dependable music-streaming application like Spotify and the many advantages of investing in custom music-streaming apps.
For a quick overview, the price of the music streaming app can range between $45,000 and $250,000. Numerous factors that influence your overall development budget include the location of the app’s development team, the design of the app’s UI/UX, development process maintenance, quality control processes, and so on.
There are various apps for streaming music available, each with its distinctive features and services. It is important to know that some apps can combine features from different kinds, delivering a full music experience to meet users’ diverse preferences.
Therefore, it is essential to consider the kind of music app you want to use because the amount of money required to develop different types of apps differs significantly. Here are a few of the most popular kinds:
These platforms let users stream music online and provide access to huge libraries of music and albums. Examples of On-Demand Music streaming Apps comprise Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
They provide customized music stations or radio-like experiences. Users can pick the genre or artist they want to listen to, and then the app will play an ongoing stream of similar music. Some examples of Radio-Style Music Streaming Apps include Pandora and iHeartRadio.
The apps concentrate on content created by users, who upload, share, and distribute their original songs or remixes. Examples of apps that support User-Generated Audio Content Platforms include SoundCloud and Bandcamp.
These platforms blend music streaming and social networking features and let users discover new music through social networks.
Some examples of Social Music Streaming Apps include Spotify (with its social features), Last.fm, and Tidal (with exclusive artist content and behind-the-scenes content).
These apps offer live streaming of events, music festivals, and performances. Users can watch live events and talk shows from a distance. Examples of live streaming apps and Streaming Platforms are LiveXLive (formerly Slacker Radio), Twitch, and YouTube Live.
The apps let users download music and play it offline. Many on-demand streaming services have this option. Some apps that allow you to play music without an internet connection are Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
Music app development has changed how people listen to and find music in our digital world. Music streaming has many benefits—both personal for music lovers and as a revenue source for companies looking for new revenue sources. We’ll discuss these in this section.
Music streaming apps give you access to a vast collection of songs from every genre at all times and in all seasons. You can discover new music or explore classics with only one tap!
With music streaming apps, you can stream your most loved tunes anytime and from anywhere. There’s no need to store space-hogging CDs. Stream directly to your tablet or smartphone, whether at home, traveling, or even commuting!
The apps employ algorithms that study your listening habits and create playlists specifically tailored to your preferences. In addition, these apps recommend artists, songs, and genres based on the music you like.
Many streaming apps permit music downloads you can listen to offline, which is ideal for long travel and areas with limited connectivity or data limits. This makes offline listening available anytime, anywhere!
Music streaming apps usually include social functions that permit users to share music you like or playlists you create, making sharing music more enjoyable with your fellow music lovers! Social interactions can build a sense of community for music lovers when you discover new songs that create a sense of belonging among music lovers worldwide!
A music streaming app can draw paid and free subscribers, generating revenue opportunities through charging subscription fees, offering specific ads, or leasing data storage services. This kind of app provides opportunities for business expansion.
Businesses can earn revenue from music streaming applications in many ways. Customers can purchase premium plans that offer regular income, while companies can make money through strategically placed ads that are paid per click or impression; you can even work with artists or record labels and sell branded content created by the musicians to generate additional revenue.
Successive music streaming apps typically establish partnerships with record companies, artists, and other industry participants. These partnerships can lead to exclusive releases, performance promotions, or even artist-curated playlists distributed to their audience. These partnerships boost content creation, the app’s position in the market, and its reach.
Apps can collect abundant information about user behavior, such as popular genre preferences, popular music, market trends, and curation strategies, that companies can use to improve their apps by making data-based decisions. This allows them to better understand their target audiences and adjust the content delivery accordingly.
Music streaming app development services allow companies to establish strong brands in the music business. Offering seamless user experiences that include top-quality audio, personalized suggestions, and easy-to-use features is vital to establishing an ongoing brand image that is cherished by music lovers and boosting their image.
Family and friends leave positive reviews on the app to see it succeed in a competitive field. They also help viewers get long-term credit.
The most critical aspect tends to be the features that attract users, but filtering this out can be challenging as they directly influence how much it costs to create an app for streaming music. It is therefore recommended that you seek help from an app development firm. Let’s take a review the following highlights:
It’s a crucial feature of premium accounts. You can request that your users provide information. Users must create an account to sign in to the mobile app and access an extensive music library for free. Users must provide basic details like Name, email IDs, Mobile numbers, and age. After registering, users can gain access to advanced features.
Users can update their profiles by changing the information on this page. They can also update their profile by altering their profile details. Users can also adjust their preferences for music on their profiles.
Social sharing is an essential element of business success. You can encourage your customers to share their most loved music, playlists, or songs through WhatsApp or Instagram Direct messaging. However, adding social sharing features can increase the price of building an application for music streaming.
Your listeners must be able to access offline and online content. This will allow them to remain connected to their devices for longer. Accessing offline is the ideal method to give your users access to their preferred songs and music without internet connectivity. Accessing online allows your customers to access the most recent music and also download songs offline for offline access.
Search and discovery are the things you can show users to demonstrate their decision. This feature is crucial since it lets users keep track of their preferences and locate songs. Users can use this feature to search for music using artists, tracks, or albums.
It’s the most effective way to get users involved. The feature can be added to a music streaming application such as Spotify to recommend songs based on a user’s search. This feature can help predict users’ music preferences and provide recommendations in response to those preferences.
It allows users to use the features available in your music application. Users can save or add their favorite songs to a playlist. You can access the songs directly or create a playlist that you want to play.
While not a must-have feature, Push notifications can be extremely useful for informing your audience about new releases, great offers, or discounts. However, it is important to understand that the inclusion of push notifications could impact the cost of music app development.
The app’s messaging system allows users to communicate with other users using private messages. It is now clear how to create music streaming applications and the costs involved in building an app for streaming music. But, the price issue remains, varying depending on the source.
Music app development is not easy. To ensure that you do not get off track, we’ve highlighted the most important steps to creating an application.
Research audience requests. Most of the time, it is dependent on the area in which you intend to start the streaming application. Tencent Music Entertainment’s statistics found that when self-isolation was strict, Chinese used music streaming apps more frequently on televisions than on smartphones.
It can be missed if your preferences are not investigated. However, it could provide tips that can assist you in avoiding mistakes while making the wrong choice with a streaming application or help you distinguish yourself from the competition.
Let’s talk about a case study to demonstrate that market research can be a valuable tool. Our client asked us to design an MVP of a travel-planning app. They weren’t certain whether their target audience would need the app. To avoid the client investing money in developing an app that could fail, we suggested the opportunity to run a Product Discovery.
We analyzed the client’s concept using a Jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) framework focused on people’s needs, not the product’s features. We identified the issues of the intended audience and the hypotheses we wanted to test.
Depending on your music streaming app’s vision, you could use the list of functions mentioned above or think of an additional feature. When you choose the primary features, we suggest launching an MVP—the smallest viable product.
Startups use this method to launch their product rapidly and test the concept. Typically, an MVP contains only the most essential attributes, which makes it less expensive than a full-blown app for streaming music.
Intellectual Property Rights protect every song. Therefore, you must be careful about transferring legal content to your subscribers. Purchase a license that grants you Public Performance Rights.
For instance, Spotify has a Sound Recording License that covers rights to records you can purchase from labels such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment Group, and so on. It also comes with Music Composition License Agreements that define the rightful owners of the music. You can manage that through special agencies—within the U.S., for example, BMI and ASCAP.
Think of a library that contains millions of tracks and your personal playlists. UX design (UX design) will help users avoid getting lost since it’s responsible for making music streaming applications more user-friendly.
The design of the user interface is crucial. While it’s true that people primarily listen to music and don’t look at it literally, a design shouldn’t be overloaded with elements and buttons. A well-designed UI will help users navigate the app without difficulty.
If you are able to establish the basic idea of how to create an application for music, then you must meet your development team and pick the right stack appropriate for the features you have selected.
The development process usually involves two stages, both the backend and the front end.
Frontend developers create applications with code that clients interact with—such as the functions that the player performs, playlists, music search, and other such things. Backend development is the part of the backend. The backend is accountable for the storage of Terabytes of music information streaming via direct connection, user authorization, and how they can connect with both platforms, iOS and Android.
Testing is critical in creating any application, not just music streaming applications. It helps you find and fix issues before releasing to ensure that your users can enjoy your music.
Launching your music streaming application is thrilling—your product, which you’ve spent a lot of time developing, will be released. Within the first few weeks following the launch, it’s essential to get feedback from your users to enhance your app, making it more user-friendly and appealing to your target audience and also adding more options to the MVP.
The answer to the question, ‘How much will it cost you to build an app for streaming music?’ is found through the study of various factors, such as the features that will be incorporated into the application, the platforms that it will launch, and finally, the location of the music streaming app development company.
As the blog revealed in the past, the price of music app development on Android and iOS could range from $45,000 to $250,000. The cost could increase or decrease based on numerous important factors, such as the app’s feature list, the tech stack employed, and the overall level of complexity. Let’s discuss each of these aspects in detail in the following paragraphs.
As we mentioned earlier in this blog, the Spotify-like app development price is based on the variables that affect the overall music app development budget. The cost could be increased or decreased based on the many relevant aspects that affect the overall app features, which are stated by the web-based application development service, as well as based on the complexity of the app.
Let’s look at each of the aspects in greater detail:
The level of complexity in the Spotify app directly influences its cost. The more complex app with huge features will cost more than a simpler app with fewer features and a simpler, less complex index. The cost estimate for streaming music apps available for Android or iOS devices is based on the complexity of their features.
An expertly designed UI/UX is among the most crucial strategies that affect the Spotify app’s development, including the total engagement and retention rate. Delivering a seamless experience for users to their intended audience requires the app’s style to be tested on a variety of platforms several times. This is why the total price of Spotify app development is high.
Picking the right and efficient platform for creating an app for music streaming, such as Spotify, is another element that determines the overall budget for development. In this case, you could first choose an option of Android or iOS to develop your app on or consider cross-platform music app development. However, there is no cost distinction between Android and iOS app development. It is recommended to pick an audio streaming platform in a systematic manner while moving on according to the apps that are gaining more popularity.
The amount of people hired to create live streaming applications for an Android or iOS app directly influences the total Spotify development costs. Building an in-house team to develop apps is a difficult task, as it is a part of the hiring process and managing the entire process from scratch to produce innovative apps. You are generally advised to outsource your music app development project to a dedicated group of app developers. The greater the value you can provide is a competent team with the experience to cut down on the overall development costs.
The custom music streaming app development does not end when you launch the app, apart from the space it occupies. You must take care to ensure that your apps function correctly and are secure from bugs. Additionally, integrating the latest technology in line with market trends is among the most effective methods to ensure the app’s growth in the near future. So, the whole application, such as Spotify maintenance, will cost you directly as it will impact the music streaming app’s development.
A strong technology system for the Spotify mobile app could affect its overall performance in the crowded ecosystem. The app’s backing with the latest technology can help your company on the path to success while ensuring better ROI. The tech stack of the most well-known music streaming apps, such as Spotify on Android and iOS, comprises the simplest methods to master new frameworks and technologies to create more enjoyable experiences for users.
The integration of features directly affects your Music Streaming App’s price, like Spotify’s. A mobile app creation firm provides an app loaded with manually listed features to give you an instant edge while ensuring more significant levels of satisfaction and engagement for users. In this regard, we’ve finally come to the section that will look ahead to the options you must include in your music streaming app and the hours that can keep you ahead of the competitors.
As per the requirements, we have arrived at the development process. We want to add advanced features to the application that will evolve within your music streaming app and the time needed to create feature-rich apps.
The location of the music app development agency responsible for development will first affect the total Spotify budget for the app. The place of the music app development company will also affect the total price of Spotify. For example, if you want to work with a company within your area, like Asia or Africa, the cost is likely to be more expensive than that of companies located in the UK according to the time durations.
Streaming apps for music are everywhere today, and several businesses in this space are thriving. If you’re thinking of building an app like theirs, know that the competition is being foisted on you. Therefore, it is important to know the advantages of custom-built apps prior to making an investment.
It has also been quite some time since streaming music apps online were launched on the market. Users are aware of what they want, and their requirements keep growing every day, so app maintenance and keeping your music app up to date with the most recent trends should be ongoing.
As a proprietor of a business and a service provider, you must meet these needs and satisfy your clients. Incorporating Artificial Intelligence is the new trend and is a recently cultivated requirement of streaming music app users. Based on the new desire of those using the music streaming app, skilled developers seek to incorporate artificial intelligence into the application. The music they stream must be a masterpiece in their unique way. Therefore, you require experts from a company that develops software that can comprehend the public’s demands and help create something worth your money.
To build an app for streaming music, it is essential to focus on the user experience, know your intended market, and consider the legal aspects. It is also crucial to determine the budget for your music app and invest in its marketing to boost its download rates.
There is a way to build an app similar to Spotify at a low cost; however, you’ll require some compromises regarding features or design. You can also look at a lower-cost development platform or outsource work to a less expensive location. Remember that the cost of developing an app could vary depending on its complexity and the amount of effort involved, and it’s crucial to consider your budget and goals before commencing the development process.
To build a flexible and reliable music streaming application similar to Spotify, technology like Python, Java, Apache Cassandra, Apache Kafka, and React is widely employed. These technologies guarantee high performance, reliability, and seamless user experience across various platforms.
The price of developing an app similar to Spotify can range from $45,000 to $150,000. The many factors that impact the overall budget are where the agency is responsible for app development, the features to be included in an app’s features, the tech stack employed, the design for UI/UX, and many more.
