SOCAN : A Mobile App to Help Musicians Manage on the Go
Challenge
SOCAN's legacy mobile app was designed to give musicians a variety of helpful tools at their fingertips. But unstable code, a cumbersome UX and tightly coupled interface all plagued the app's performance and resulted in low user adoption. A new app would need to resolve all of those issues, while performing consistently across iOS and Android devices with a single code base.
Solution
Project Highlights User account management Catalogue management Earnings statements Tariff library Royalty calculators News and notifications RICH IN FUNCTIONALITY The SOCAN mobile app features a variety of tools to make life easier for users and for SOCAN itself. These tools include a license finder and fee calculator for businesses that use music, and a royalty calculator to help musicians determine their earnings. The secure login area also lets musicians track their song catalogue and view quarterly statements of earnings. STREAMLINED USER EXPERIENCE Analysis of the legacy app gave us a chance to see for ourselves where the front-end experience fell short. We modernized and simplified the user interface while aligning it with various web services. Likewise, upgrades to the user experience were designed to be seamless—improving legibility, streamlining information architecture and incorporating clearer navigation. SMART WORKFLOWS The new SOCAN mobile app integrates all of the core business workflows from before, but they've been re-architected to remove bottlenecks. For example, members can email earnings statements to themselves, while businesses can get tariff applications delivered straight to their inbox—offloading a cumbersome process from SOCAN personnel. STABILIZED PERFORMANCE The biggest improvements happened on the development side. By using Angular and Ionic Framework—the leading open-source mobile SDK—we created a fully cross-platform app. A single code base drives consistent performance on Apple iOS and Android devices—solving one of the biggest problems with the previous version of the app while keeping development costs down.
Results
Major improvements to the code stabilizes performance across both operating systems, providing a more consistent and reliable experience for all users. The new version of the app makes it easier than ever for members to manage their account on the go, while keeping all of the core business workflows from before. Businesses can also get tariff applications delivered straight to their inbox, offloading a cumbersome process from SOCAN personnel. Integration of several web services in Java “Licence finder” tool to help users find the right tariff for their needs License and performance royalty calculators Integrated tariff library browseable by business type Account management with access to catalogue of creative works and statement history
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