Our main goal was to find a point of origin for the struggles of small musical creators. We went into our interviews and surveys with the intent to understand the activities/processes of both musical creators and listeners, and piece together the issues that they may be facing and how to address them. Since our team had limited collective knowledge of the musical industry and individual journeys navigating the space, we needed to educate ourselves by speaking directly to those who are. We also made sure that our interviewees had a diverse range of experience so that we will be able to iterate on designs that accommodate users with varied, but connected needs. User research is always important for understanding who you’re designing for, and it is especially necessary for something as complex as the music industry, where being a musician can mean many different things.