How To Develop An App Like iHeart: Radio, Podcasts, Music?

Confused to develop an app like iHeart?

When it comes to music streaming apps, there is a vast opportunity to settle in. You can be the one to lead the competitive market like iHeart. 

Well, here you can find it all about the concepts, working procedures, features, steps, challenges, and various other attributes. 

Are you ready to learn them all?

What is iHeart & How Does It Work?

iHeart app is the leading audio media company in America, that offers a wide range of audio content and services, including radio broadcasting, digital platforms such as iHeartRadio, and live events. 

Here the users can listen to thousands of live radio stations and may stream unlimited music playlists for any kind of mood or activity. 

The app has a homepage where the users can find a grid that highlights a selection of top stations, although the users can view more options to enjoy the radio from a diversified country. 

Under this app, the users can find global hits or new releases, where they can go for ad-free music and songs.

Along with this, the users can stream songs, trending podcasts, and live sports for free over any type of device. 

You can follow the given statistics for more. 

• Music streaming can make up 84% of music industry revenue.

• Additionally, the industry has grown by over 10% in the past years.
• The online radio platform has reported over 128 million registered users across the service and the app.

• The streaming app is projected to grow from USD 52.58 billion in the year 2025 to USD 182.14 billion by the year 2034.

• Among the popular music streaming services in the United States in June 2019 by the mobile app reach, there were 5% of users in the regions who have utilized such services.

This can provide you with a clear landscape to build an app like iHeart. 

Well, now let’s discover the working process to make an app like iHeart, here. 

After downloading the app, users can continue with setting the profile. This is all about adding crucial details related to the same such as their name, preferences over the music, and much more.

Now, users can create their favorite songs and albums as per their preferences. 

Well, in the next step, they can continue enjoying every beat of the music, additionally, here the users can find news and daily podcasts as per the user’s preferences.

Along with this, they can add their reviews and feedback. 

Now, you can continue with the features to include in an app like iHeart that represents the blood of an app. 

Let’s discover them all below. 

Features to Include in an App Like iHeart

What are the top features that can help you enhance the complete app and its functionality? 

The music streaming app features will help you lead the market effectively. Let’s learn them all below.

► Playlist

This is a must-have feature that you can add to the app. Here within the playlist, the users can take advantage of the top features.

Additionally, here the users can add or store their favorite songs. 

Through a personalized playlist, the users can continue listening to their favorite songs effectively. 

► Social Sharing

Social media integration is the feature that helps to connect them with their favorite music experiences with their friends and followers. 

Integrating with the social platforms, the users can share their music with their family and friends.

It is the act of communicating and connecting with others without switching your music streaming app. 

► Audio Streaming

Through audio streaming, the users can enjoy their music with the best possible sound. 

Additionally, it comprises offering multiple language features so that the users can find it convenient to reach their favorite artists. 

► Radio Stations

Many music streaming apps have a radio station, where they can often play popular songs and albums. 

Additionally, over an app like iHeart, the users can select their preferred radio stations. 

► Navigation

The feature of navigation can help the users to successfully move within the app. This should be attractive and engaging. 

With navigation, the users can be able to operate the app successfully. 

► Voice Search and Commands

Through voice search and commands, the users can be able to search for their favorite music via voice search. 

This reduces the efforts spent on finding the perfect song through typing. 

► Push Notifications

Push notifications are a feature that will be useful to provide updated information related to any new song launch news or any podcasts. 

This will provide information based on the latest music news and albums. 

► Search and Filter

Through adding a search feature, the users will be able to find their favorite songs, artists, radio channels, and more via filters and searches. 

Now, users can search for robust functionality that may allow them to quickly find any specific tasks based on a varied range of users. 

► Offline Listening

In today’s mobile-centric world, the ability of users to listen to music offline is a must. By including offline listening, users can be able to access music without the internet. 

This is an effective way to connect with users who usually travel more and are not able to access the internet in several regions. 

► Music Categorization

Users must have the option to search for songs and artists. Additionally, the users can provide a classification by styles, frequency, playlists, and other determinants. 

This is an important and must-have feature to create an app like iHeart. 

These were certain amazing features that you can consider when it comes to building an iHeart app. 

Now, the question is “ What are the steps to create an app like iHeart?”

Well, let’s find them all below. 

Steps to Develop an App Like iHeart

What are the steps to consider if you want to build an app like iHeart?

Let’s discover “how to develop a music streaming app?” below.

Step 1: Market Analysis

At first, it’s essential to discover important and relevant market conditions. This is a significant step, where you can evaluate the gap that exists in the current market and then cover it with your idea. 

This step is all about projecting the success, you can expect, where you can introduce your brand and its related products to the customers. 

Through market research, you can consider diversified competitors and the way they can attract and engage users in the environment. 

Step 2: Select the Type of Features

You can select various features based on the project’s aim and objectives. Through a well-diversified portfolio, users can find multiple features that will help them to address their demands. 

Under this step, you can find features such as audio streaming, social sharing, radio stations, navigation, push notifications, and many others. 

Features will be useful in achieving the goals for your business. These features can be effective in dealing with all your issues. 

Step 3: Design Your App

Now, you can design the app by including various colors, and themes, and can visualize it accordingly.

In this stage, you can design an intuitive and attractive user interface. 

Here you should work with the UI/UX app design team to build a visually appealing user-friendly experience. 

When it comes to music streaming app design, you need to ensure the users can locate and access the preferred radio and audio content easily. 

Step 4: Core Functionality

The mobile app tech stack defines the core functionality of your app. It is popularly known as the technology infrastructure or a solution stack. 

After the design, here comes building the core technology for your dream app like iHeart.

This is the tech stack selection step, where you need to opt and select the technologies suitable for building your app. 

Here, it’s all about the technologies that will support the complete features of your app, along with its overall aim.

The technologies including the programming languages whether Kotlin or Swift, need to be selected based on the platform to launch the app. 

Step 5: App Testing

Without rigorous testing for your app launching it can lead to too many errors and issues.

Mobile app testing is all about including proper tools and technologies for identifying and reducing bugs that might occur while building an app. 

There are vast types of testing that you can continue with such as performance testing, security testing, functional, compatibility, usability testing, and many others. 

This step is all about adding suitable parameters and reducing any errors that might create obstacles when the users proceed to use the app. 

Step 6: Deployment, Launch and Maintenance

As per the decided platform (Android, iOS, or Hybrid), you can launch the app on the planned date.

This will provide you with a space to connect with the audience and to know whether your app is effective enough to lead the market. 

Now, as your app is launched, the tasks haven’t ended here. You need to proceed with mobile app maintenance services that are all about continuous updates, and maintaining the app as per the current market scenarios. 

You need to discuss the apt mobile app maintenance process with the developers and then proceed with the same. 

These were the steps to follow to create an app like iHeart. We understand that you might get confused about the technologies to implement while making an app like iHeart. 

Thus, we have included it all for you in the section below.

Key Technologies For Developing an App Like iHeart

What kind of music Streaming app tech stack to include in your dream project?

To answer it, you can check out the table below stating a brief. 

The selection of technologies will depend on determinants such as the skills of the developers, types of apps, features, and complexity of the app. 

Now, as we move ahead, it’s significant to launch the app, only after evaluating different challenges that can impact the success of your dream app. 

Let’s cover all the issues and challenges below. 

Challenges in Developing an App Like iHeart

When you move ahead to develop an app like iHeart, it’s vital to focus on diversified issues and challenges that can become an obstacle in such a scenario. 

Let’s examine them all below.

♦ Poor Market Research

A lack of market analysis can further lead to the failure of the app.

Well, without proper research, you will not have any awareness of the competition, which might result in pricing errors, ineffective marketing strategies, and an inability to differentiate one’s offerings in the marketplace. 

♦ Low Streaming Quality

Poor streaming quality will not only result in an increase in the churn rate of users, but it will also create a negative impression of your brand over the target audience.

Users in the current era prefer audio and video in high quality. Avoidance of this can result in losing them in the long run. 

♦ Inadequate App Design

If the app design is not accurate or attractive then no need to adopt it. A poor design doesn’t only lead to avoiding the users, but also it helps in providing them with an interface that is simple to navigate easily.

Avoiding an attractive interface will impact the functionality of the overall app. 

♦ Security of Data

Are you ensure that the technologies you adopted for securing the data are efficient enough to assure the users? Well, if not then you can lose loyal users over the platform.

Lack of data security features will lead to creating privacy concerns among the users. 

♦ Cross-platform Compatibility

Can your app function over multiple platforms? Well, if not then this can become a challenge to avoid in this scenario. In the current era of updated technologies, multiple devices, and different screens.

Thus, when they find this feature in other competitors, they can shift to them easily. This challenge can lead to losing your users. 

♦ Scope Creep

Do you tend to add features and sections to your project, frequently? Well, then your project goal is not clear yet. This can even impact the complete process to build an engaging app.

By adding features and complexities, you might make your app difficult to navigate for the users. 

These were some of the challenges to ignore while creating an app like iHeart. Now, as we proceed further, it’s important to learn and add new trends within the app like iHeart. 

Are you ready to learn them all in the following section?

Latest Trends to Include in an App Like iHeart

When you build an app like iHeart, it’s essential to proceed with current and valuable trends to include within the same.

Without adopting the current technologies, and music streaming app trends you cannot lead the market. 

These steps not only can help you to live the trend, but also to avoid mistakes to create a music streaming app. 

Thus, let’s examine them all below.

➤ Personalized Algorithms and Playlists

You can adapt the personalized algorithms and playlists within the app. Without an array of personalized playlists, you cannot win the users. 

Based on the user behavior, and their preferences, the app develops custom playlists, to ensure that they can discover new tracks that are aligned with the user’s tastes. 

➤ Smart Devices Integration

Linking your app with smart devices is a solution to consider for reaching a wide audience.  

You can provide accessibility over wearable devices and smart TVs to offer easy access to streaming music. 

➤ Content Delivery Network

Through the assistance of a content delivery network (CDN), the users can simplify the content delivery at a high quality. 

It is a group of geographically distributed servers that helps to speed up the delivery of website content by bringing the users close. 

➤ Web3 Video Streaming

Web3 video streaming is all about using blockchain technology to ensure that the videos are safe and secure. Unlike the traditional platforms, the data might be owned by the platform. 

Implementing this technology can provide you ownership and control over your data and help you to attain insights into how users are using it. 

➤ AI, ML, AR and Others

The adoption of Industry 4.0 is one of the components that you cannot avoid when you are in the music streaming industry. 

Therefore, the implementation of AI, ML, AR, and VR can enhance the user experience and will help you sustain the competitive industry. 

After considering the current technologies to include in the music streaming app, let’s learn about the types of resources you can input to make an app like iHeart in the following section.  

Cost to Develop an App Like iHeart

How much does it cost to develop an app like iHeart?

The average cost to develop a music streaming app can vary from $20,000 to $250,000 depending on the types of features, types of apps, complexity, design, technologies, and much more.

You can learn more about the same by understanding the types of factors impacting the mobile app development cost. 

Let’s learn it all below. 

Factors Impacting the Cost to Develop an App Like iHeart

Learning about the cost, can’t provide you justification when it comes to complete cost estimation for your dream music streaming app. 

Here is the list of factors to consider.

• Complexity of Features

The feature’s complexity will have an impact on costs. How?

Well, a complicated feature whether it is AI or AR can have a high impact on your dream project. 

Therefore, you need to select the number of features accordingly. Here, this cost can vary from $2000 to $5000. 

• App Design

Along with the complicated feature, the type of design you are including within the app has an impact on the cost to create an app like iHeart. 

You can examine the UI/UX app design cost, only after including the type of features and examining their value in the app. 

Here the cost can vary from $2000 to $8000. 

• Technology Stack

Here the technology stack that you can include here will depend on its complexity. 

This technology will have a severe impact on the total cost to make an app like iHeart. 

Under this factor, the cost can vary from $5000 to $12,000. 

• Team of Developers

The selection of your app development team will depend on two factors including skills and location. 

Thus, over these factors, the cost to build your app like iHeart depends. Here the cost can be from $20,000 to $250,000 when you hire mobile app developers from Asian regions, and that too are experts. 

However, when you hire mobile app developers from the United States or the United Kingdom, it can cost you much more. 

• Security and Maintenance Cost

The security and maintenance cost can vary from 15% to 20% depending on the total cost to build an app like iHeart. 

It will too depend on the technologies and tools you implement within your dream app. 

This cost can vary from $3000 to $12,000 accordingly. 

Well, these were some of the factors to include while developing an app like iHeart.

Now, as we proceed further, let’s consider some of the monetization strategies to earn money because more than investing, the ultimate goal that you might be seeking is earning money, right?

The following section can be considered, for the same. 

How Does the iHeart App Make Money & What Strategies Does It Follow?

You can proceed with the money-making strategies for apps like iHeart. 

Here’s a brief of top music streaming app monetization frameworks.

► In-App Advertising

In-app advertising is all about connecting with third-party services and providing them a space over your app to promote their products and services.

Along with this, in exchange for the space, you can earn a regular amount of money. 

► In-App Purchases

In-app purchases are adding new features to the app and allowing the users to purchase them. In exchange, you can earn a great amount of money.

Here you can define an amount for each type of feature for continuing with the app. 

► Data Monetization

When it comes to data monetization, you can get consent from the users to use their data for money-making benefits.

All you can do here is to use the data of the users for making valuable reports that can be sold further in exchange for money. 

► Commission Fee

Another monetization strategy that you can consider is a commission fee. Here you can charge the users for providing music, podcasts, or news.

Along with this, you can charge a fee from the artist for connecting their composition with their target audience. 

► Subscription Plan

Here, you might charge the users a regular fee for using the app. This price might differ depending on the user’s demands and preferences.

With such a plan, you can help users with effective features that may provide them convenience over podcasts, and news. 

These were certain money-making strategies, well, if you want them to be customized as per your app, connecting with an experienced company can be helpful. 

How Nimble AppGenie Can Help You Develop an App Like iHeart?

Are you the one searching for an experienced team of developers?

Partner with Nimble AppGenie, and let your app lead the music streaming market. 

Our team is ready to provide you with all the essential strategies and assistance that can enhance your app’s existence in the competitive market. 

We are the leading Music App Development Company, which delivers not only dreams, but honesty, integrity, and trust to win the competitive battle in the market.

Conclusion

iHeart is among the top music streaming apps, and to build one like the same all you need is the right strategies.

Here the steps might begin with market analysis, select the top features, create the app design, build tech stack, conduct testing, then deployment and launch. 

In this scenario, there can be multiple challenges that your app, might face such as lack of market research, poor app design, lack of apt tech stack, scope creep, and cross-platform compatibility. 

Well, when it comes to cost, you can adopt this cost and it can be impacted by different factors such as in-app advertising, in-app purchases, data monetization, subscription plans, and commission fees.

You can connect with an efficient team of developers to achieve success.

FAQs

Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.