Inspiration
The inspiration for Animo was both of us are big music heads and we see the struggle small artist have getting their music out into the world with the algorithms of Spotify and Apple Music constantly pushing the same 30-40 big artist 24/7. So, we built Animo to help small artist get their music out and shared so they can keep creating the amazing music which often goes unappreciated.
What it does
Animo takes in a users favorite generes, artist and how niche of artists they want to discover and uses our house made model to generate 5 new songs which are in line with what they are looking for. From there, users can like and comment on songs and our model learns from that recommending similar songs, as well as recommending songs that have been vouched for more too to new users.
How we built it
For the front end, we used our provided loveable credits to design a clean and easily understandable UI which can be used and understood by anybody. On the backend, we use the Youtube Music API to get all our data on different songs and used that data to find relations between new songs and make sure they are in the category of niche which the user request when creating their account.
Challenges we ran into
One challenge we ran into while working on this project were the strict limitations of the Spotify API. Originally, we planned on using spotify's API which helped us with song playback, displaying albums, and popularity scores. However, the issue we found with this was a lot of these data points are restricted with basic developer accounts. Due to the nature of the short period of time in which a hackathon occurs in we had to adapt. To do this, we did deep research and discovered the unofficial Youtube Music API, and while these didn't have the popularity score and other data points we were searching for, in the end some of the other operations which this API had made our new recommendations closer to the users taste in music and will hopefully lead to more retention in the future.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
One accomplishment that we are proud of as a team was in coming in we quickly realized the original idea we had was slight unfeasible and outside our track. We are proud of our ability to quickly think on our feet and not only find an idea which fit in the theme of the hackathon, but is also a topic both of us are truly passionate about and really enjoy. Also, we were proud of our ability to work quickly and efficiently despite the early setback in our production cycle.
What we learned
Through the hackathon, we learned the importance of building quickly on a strong foundation. We realized with the tools AISC generously provided that building quickly while difficult would not be out major struggle. Our real struggle was coming up with a idea and a foundation which could truly set us up to make real change in an industry which is often forgotten about as people simply enjoy what is handed to them. Through building quickly, we are able to make a real change and disturbance in an industry which has been untouched for years.
What's next for Animo
On the horizon for Animo, we first need to reach the magical number of 250,000 users. Once we hit that number, we can apply for expanded Spotify API privileges. This would allow us to further expand the program through having access to a users Spotify library, allowing us to further personalize song recommendations. Along with that, through spotify our in app playback would be a lot more efficient and clearer. Finally, with these users, we can apply to be on the App Store, which opens a whole new mobile market where we feel Animo can reach it's full potential.
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