Democratizing music production

Client
Indiloop LLC

Year
2013 - 2014

Indiloop was a Canadian social platform designed to democratize music production, empowering users to create and share music effortlessly. The platform featured a patented beat-matching algorithm that synchronized BPM across instruments and vocal stems—allowing users to remix tracks effortlessly, regardless of their technical skill. With features like following, commenting, and sharing, Indiloop fostered an interactive community around music creation.

Indiloop aimed to make music creation accessible—providing beginners with an intuitive platform while offering advanced tools for experienced users.

We built a platform where music-making met social engagement—allowing users to experiment, discover, and interact with remixes in a creative community.

By collaborating with music companies, we provided isolated stems from popular songs for users to remix, disrupting traditional music platforms and innovating the music release process.

Getting the word out

Since Indiloop prioritized music and community, we partnered with music labels to create engaging, fun-first marketing material that promoted both the platform and its artists.

Our approach centered around creating engaging content that appealed to both casual listeners and budding musicians. This included interactive campaigns, remix challenges featuring popular tracks, and exclusive access to stems from well-known artists.

By emphasizing fun, creativity, and accessibility, we highlighted Indiloop’s unique capabilities while showcasing label artists in fresh, innovative ways. This partnership-driven strategy helped position Indiloop as an exciting space for fans and creators alike.

In collaboration with Fearless Records, we promoted Indiloop at Warped Tour 2014—distributing flyers to boost engagement and awareness.

Collaborating with labels

In addition to our partnership with Vans Warped Tour, we worked closely with music labels to run localized remix contests, customized for different states and cities. These contests featured exclusive tracks and stems from popular artists, giving users a chance to remix their favorite songs while engaging with the Indiloop platform.

Each contest was tailored to its region, offering unique rewards and recognition, such as tickets to local concerts or meet-and-greets with artists.

This strategy not only showcased Indiloop's creative potential but also fostered deeper engagement with both fans and the music labels, driving participation on Indiloop and spotlighting local music scenes.

In-House asset creation

Indiloop ran lean, so we made the most of each team member's skill set - and I often wore many hats, including the creation of in-house assets.

This included designing banners, promotional materials, and business cards to help promote the platform and support the team. As the only design-focused team member, I took on the responsibility of ensuring these materials aligned with our brand’s identity and visually communicated the platform's core features. Whether it was business cards for networking events or digital assets for online promotion, we maximized our impact with minimal resources by leveraging creativity and efficiency.

Gamification

To boost engagement and retention, we integrated gamification elements into Indiloop.

Leaderboards fostered friendly competition, motivating users to explore features and refine their skills. We also created challenges, such as remix contests, where users could win rewards and recognition from both peers and industry partners.

This gamified approach not only incentivized creativity but also helped build a strong, interactive community around music-making.

Wireframing & prototyping

With thousands of tracks and multiple features—from music creation to social engagement—wireframing was critical in shaping Indiloop’s user experience.

It allowed us to visually map out how all of these elements could work together to create a cohesive and intuitive user experience. In close collaboration with the other team members, we iterated on different wireframes to refine the user flow, ensuring the platform's complexity didn’t overwhelm users.

We created live prototypes to test interactions and gather actionable feedback, refining the experience in real time. These prototypes were instrumental in guiding design decisions, helping us make adjustments early, and ensuring a smooth user experience as we integrated various platform features. Through continuous iteration, we were able to strike a balance between content, functionality, and engagement.

Process

1 Collaborated with a small, five-member team, where communication and adaptability were key

2 Researched existing social platforms and music software to determine which features to implement and innovate upon

3 Prioritized continuous iteration, responding to user feedback and market changes

4 Measured success through analytics, user testing, and interviews

5 Regularly experimented with UI flows and information architecture to balance user needs with business goals

6 Provided end to end design direction, including art direction, branding, UX/UI, gamification and promotional material for the platform

7 Engaged with users through Mailchimp campaigns, social media, and contests to promote Indiloop and encourage platform participation

The takeaway

Indiloop was a fast-paced, dynamic experience that played a pivotal role in shaping my early career. As the sole design team member, I relied on iteration, experimentation, and hands-on learning—adapting quickly through trial and error.

While I could have focused more on pre-production and early testing, the process taught me invaluable lessons about product design, user experience, and collaboration.

We successfully promoted Indiloop at Warped Tour, introduced users to the joy of music creation, and enabled remixes that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.

Though Indiloop eventually closed, it provided invaluable insights into product development—reinforcing the importance of user feedback, scalable design systems, and iterative design.