Project Overview
BeatStream is a branded music streaming application built for an independent music producer who creates tracks across multiple genres. The app gives the artist a direct-to-fan distribution channel — no Spotify middleman — with full control over pricing, content, and subscriber relationships.
The music library is organized into categories (Lo-Fi Beats, Hip-Hop, Classical Fusion, EDM, Meditation, Cinematic) with each category having a thumbnail, description, and track list. Free users can preview the first 30 seconds of any track; premium subscribers get unlimited full-track streaming and offline download access.
Subscription management is handled via Razorpay Subscriptions with monthly and annual plan options. The system auto-revokes access on payment failure and sends renewal reminders 3 days before expiry. Subscribers receive a welcome email with their login credentials and a personalized "Your Music Dashboard" showing their listening history and favorites.
The admin panel gives the artist complete control: upload new tracks (auto-compressed and stored on AWS S3), create/edit categories, set featured tracks, view subscriber analytics (new vs. churned, revenue by plan, most-played tracks), and send broadcast push notifications to all premium users.
The app is built as a Progressive Web App (PWA), meaning users can install it on their phone from the browser without going through an app store — reducing friction and cost significantly for the creator.
Challenges & Solutions
Audio streaming required careful implementation to prevent content piracy — we serve audio via signed time-limited S3 URLs that expire every 15 minutes, making direct URL sharing useless. The offline download feature for premium users encrypts the audio file locally using AES-256 with a device-bound key, so downloaded tracks can only play within the app on the original device.
Outcome & Impact
Artist onboarded 800+ subscribers within the first month of launch. Monthly recurring revenue established at ₹45,000/month from subscriptions. The admin panel empowered the artist to manage everything independently — zero post-launch developer dependency.
