Designing for Music Discovery: Evaluation and Comparison of Five Music Player Prototypes

AbstractThis article describes the evaluation and comparison of five prototypes designed for the discovery of new music. The prototypes were compared against each other using various qualitative and quantitative metrics, and the results were then used to formulate a set of design criteria for future music discovery applications. Based on the results of a user study with 40 participants, visually interesting user interfaces and new interaction paradigms can inspire users to explore music collections and provide playful and fun ways to find new music. Without textual search functionality, such applications should rather complement than replace traditional music-listening applications.