Vision

I propose to create a lovemark out of Yandex.Music with a unique set of values and exceptional quality of execution, and:

• Keep the current set of features for discovery, as it's unique in the market, and even add a couple of new scenarios,such as recommended artists and friends' tracks. I would also get rid of smart playlists, as I don't understand their purpose when there are completely analogous radio streams that are infinite.
• Leave one play button in the most prominent place (top of the main page) that launches "My Wave" with settings inside (so that nothing distracts from the main action) [increase session duration and retention].
• Add full-fledged video functionality with music videos and video versions of podcasts to increase the average time spent in the app, return rate, and growth in case of quarantine (the current music video functionality is a prototype that has remained a prototype) [significant increase in session duration].
• Feature audiobooks, children's content, wellness content (meditation and sounds), music videos, video podcasts,and concerts in a prominent place (main page) because they all deserve a separate message as a value proposition [increase frequency of use].
• Refresh the UI, illustrations, animations, and add haptic feedback (it's actually important, no matter what anyone says).
• Make session duration and listening/viewing time the main metrics.

In two years, Yandex.Music will become a place for relaxation and entertainment around music and podcasts, including everything that is currently available, as well as video versions of podcasts, music videos, exclusive interviews, live sessions, its own festival, merch, and...

Disclaimer

Yandex.Music has developed organically on its path, and the team has made quite balanced, in my opinion, correct decisions. Thanks to this, the product is formed in a fairly healthy information architecture, which, however, may require revision in the future.

Functionally, the product has a unique and rich set of values, which in itself constitutes a competitive advantage. I consider getting rid of competitive advantages to be a shot in the foot. The only question is how and in which baskets to place it inside the product so that the product corresponds to the concept of "easy to learn, hard to master."

The impression of the product is formed from details, so this document collects more and less significant proposed changes and innovations together. I propose rather "evolutionary" changes, as developing "revolutionary" changes requires more time.

These proposals are hypotheses since I do not have the opportunity to validate them using data and research.

Improvement and Addition of Features

Onboarding

It is possible to shorten the onboarding to one step and make it more interactive, for example, by immediately offering to like artists and subgenres similar to the selected ones. Besides this, I would allow listening to excerpts of genres and artists [reduce time to activation, higher retention for those who passed onboarding due to more accurate recommendations].

Import

Import is an essential function that allows you to set up recommendations in one click, but currently:

1. Import from the Apple media library doesn't work well. Perhaps it can be improved (I know at least one case of not switching to Yandex.Music because of this, which can be confirmed by product analytics).