Uncover
Overview
Uncover is a concept exploring how music discovery could better support cover artists. Inspired by my own frustration with finding cover performances across multiple platforms, the project rethinks the discovery experience by combining short-form content with music streaming. Rather than asking users what they already want to hear, Uncover encourages curiosity, helping listeners uncover new artists through familiar songs.
The Problem
As someone who enjoys listening to cover songs, I found that discovering them was surprisingly difficult. Great performances were scattered across platforms like YouTube, Spotify and TikTok, each serving a different purpose but none designed specifically for discovering cover artists.
Searching for a specific cover often meant competing with recommendation algorithms that prioritised trending content, original recordings or unrelated results. Even when I found a performance I loved, identifying the artist or exploring more of their work wasn’t always straightforward.
This led me to ask a simple question:
How might we make discovering cover artists as effortless and engaging as discovering original music?
Research & Key Insights
To validate whether my own experience reflected a wider problem, I reviewed discussions across Reddit communities focused on music discovery and streaming platforms. Rather than conducting formal user interviews, I looked for recurring themes in how people discover cover songs and where existing platforms fall short.
Discovery is fragmented
Listeners often switch between Spotify, YouTube and TikTok because no single platform is dedicated to discovering cover performances.
There is demand for cover music
Many users actively search for acoustic versions, live performances and reinterpretations of popular songs, demonstrating a clear interest beyond original recordings.
Popularity dominates discovery
Recommendation algorithms tend to prioritise trending content and original artists, making it difficult for cover performers to gain visibility.
Performance creates connection
When multiple artists perform the same song, listeners often connect with the performer’s voice, emotion and personality rather than the song itself..
Familiarity encourages exploration
Recognising a well-known song lowers the barrier to discovering unfamiliar artists, making covers a natural gateway to exploring new music.
The Users
Simon, 21
The Creator
“I don’t need fame, I need the right people to actually hear this.”
Goals
- Get his covers in front of people who genuinely connect with his interpretation, not just anyone scrolling
- Be discovered on a platform built for this, instead of competing against everything else on general platforms
Frustrations
- Gets lost in the noise on platforms not designed for music discovery specifically
- Puts real interpretation into his covers but has no way to signal that depth to the right listeners
Lara, 16
The Listener
“My favourite covers live in like five different apps.”
Goals
- Find covers of the artists she loves in one place
- Discover new interpretations without hunting across platforms
Frustrations
- Covers are scattered across YouTube, TikTok and Spotify with no single home
- No dedicated space for this specific part of her music taste
Competitive Analysis
To understand where the opportunity existed, I analysed the platforms most commonly used to discover cover music.
Platform
Strengths
Limitations
Spotify
Excellent music streaming experience, personalised recommendations and playlist management.
Discovery is driven by popularity, making it difficult for cover artists to gain visibility. Playback is prioritised over exploration.
Youtube
Vast library of cover performances and video content that showcases an artist’s personality and style.
Not designed primarily as a music platform. Covers are mixed with unrelated content and organising music is cumbersome.
Tiktok
Excellent at sparking curiosity through short-form content and exposing users to new creators.
Songs are often incomplete, long-form listening secondary, and discovering music beyond the algorithm is difficult.
Each platform solves part of the problem, but none combines discovery, creator visibility and long-form listening into a single experience. This became the opportunity behind Uncover.
Product Vision
Uncover is designed to spark curiosity through music discovery.
Rather than asking users what they already want to hear, the experience introduces them to performances they didn’t know they were looking for. Every interaction is designed to encourage exploration: hearing a short performance, becoming intrigued, and seamlessly continuing into the full song.
By using familiar songs as a starting point, Uncover lowers the barrier to discovering unfamiliar artists. Covers become more than reinterpretations; they become a gateway to new voices, different genres and eventually original music.
The long-term vision is to encourage a more diverse musical culture, where listeners regularly discover artists outside their usual preferences while giving talented cover performers the visibility they deserve
Design Principles
Prioritising Discovery
Traditional music platforms begin with search. Users already know what they want to hear before opening the app.
Uncover takes the opposite approach.
By making the Social Hub the home screen, users immediately discover performances they may never have searched for themselves. The goal is to spark curiosity first and encourage exploration before playback.
Show the Performer, Not Just the Song
A cover is more than a different version of a song, it’s a personal interpretation.
While multiple artists may perform the same lyrics and melody, video reveals the emotion, personality and style behind each performance. Making video the primary content format helps listeners connect with the artist, not just the music.
Rethinking Search
Traditional search prioritises popularity, making original recordings easier to find than covers.
To address this, I introduced Originals / Covers buttons, allowing listeners to intentionally explore either without one overshadowing the other.
Visual Identity
Typeface
Colour Palette
Icons & Buttons
Core Experience
The experience of Uncover is built around a simple discovery loop:
Discover → Become Curious → Listen → Explore → Repeat
Rather than functioning as a traditional music player, Uncover creates value through discovery. Every interaction encourages users to uncover new artists, explore their work and continue discovering music.
Instead of asking, “What do you want to listen to?”, Uncover asks, “What might you discover today?”
Final Prototype
The final prototype combines short-form discovery with long-form listening, creating an experience where curiosity naturally leads to deeper exploration. Each interaction is designed to help listeners uncover new artists while giving creators a platform where their performances take centre stage.
Reflection
Uncover taught me that good product design isn’t just about creating new features, it’s about identifying the right problem to solve. Throughout the project, I focused on balancing the needs of listeners looking to discover music with creators seeking greater visibility.
If I continued developing the project, I would validate these assumptions through user testing, refine the recommendation experience and explore ways to measure how effectively the platform encourages long-term music discovery.