Music Aficionado

Building a Music Community

A social platform that removes all the noise, and only leaves the beautiful music

In 2013, Spencer was instrumental to the launch and development of Music Aficionado, a tech startup that was part social media platform, online music magazine, part music streaming service. With over four million users, 1.2 million unique monthly visitors, and investments from Guitar Center, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment, Music Aficionado quickly became a leading platform for Gen X + Baby Boomer high household income consumers.

As Content and Production Director, Spencer:

• Oversaw all editorial content

• Curated official MA playlists, many of which can be found on his Spotify page

• Tested QA functionality

• Handled organization of the site’s backend.

• Wrote a weekly music column—some of his favorites can be found here

The founders of Music Aficionado saw a market opportunity to create a premier music service for the affluent Gen X & Baby Boomer generations and sought to cut the noise, elevate conversation centered solely on music, and monetize a social platform to appeal to this demographic.

When Music Aficionado first launched, the idea was initially to create a high-end digital magazine, but through prototyping and experience with real users, the concept pivoted to fill a different need. It evolved from a passive, top down experience to an egalitarian music conversation for discerning music lovers. The site combined on-demand music streaming, powered by Apple Music, with member-curated collections, videos, playlists, discussion forums and reviews.

Starting with a native iPad app, Music Aficionado saw exponential growth once the responsive website and iOS & Android apps were launched. Until its closure at the end of 2020, Music Aficionado captured long user sessions and high engagement rates from regular and celebrity users alike, reaching 1.2 million unique monthly visitors and becoming one of the top music sites targeting Gen X & Baby Boomer high household income consumers.

All Music, All Genres

Powered by Apple Music

Partnering with the agency THIS IS RED, Spencer helped create a multitude of banner ads to ladder up Music Aficionado's core user demo (‘60s-’70s classic rock and pop) to drive Apple Music subscriptions.

Case Study Video

Video produced by Music Aficionado for Paul Reed Smith Guitars

All the best albums, powered by Apple Music