Case studies / Salón
Case study · Mobile app
How do artists find the right people to make music with?
Building a swipe-based matchmaking app that connects musicians and artists with similar taste, for iOS and Android.
Salón is a social app that helps musicians and artists find collaborators with a similar taste. People create a profile, choose what they do, and swipe through artists near them.
When two people like each other, they match and can chat straight away. They can send voice notes, share tracks and see who is nearby on a map.
The client, based in the UK, came to us with the idea. We took it from concept to a working app on both stores.
Artists mostly find each other by chance. General social apps do not understand what an artist does or what they sound like.
No way to search by craft
Nothing helped a guitarist find a vocalist, or a lyricist find a producer, by profession and taste.
Sign-up friction
Long forms lose people before they see a single profile. Onboarding had to take a few taps.
Matches that go nowhere
A like is not a collaboration. Matches needed to lead to conversation and real meetings.
A product that could grow
The app needed a paid tier and cloud set-up that could handle more users over time.
Without a focused product, the idea would stay an idea: no users, no conversations, no collaborations.
We kept the product small and clear around three actions: set up a profile, swipe, and talk.
Profiles built around what artists do
People choose a profession, so every card says what the person does, not just who they are.
- Guitarist, vocalist, drummer, lyricist, DJ and more
- Cards show age, city and profession
Sign-up in a few taps
No long forms. People are in and looking at profiles within a minute.
- Phone number and OTP
- Google, Facebook or email
- Birthdate and profession to finish
Swipe-first discovery
Artists are shown one at a time, so each decision is quick and clear.
- Pass or like in one gesture
- People Near Me map for local matches
Chat that carries the work
A match opens a chat built for sharing ideas, not just saying hello.
- Voice notes and messages
- Songs, covers and video
Premium plans
A paid tier is part of the product from day one.
- Unlimited swipes
- Ad-free browsing
- Advanced search filters
- Profile boost
Built on AWS
One mobile codebase serves both stores, backed by managed cloud services. The client saw a working build every week.
- Aurora, ECS and OpenSearch
- Code pushed to the client repository daily
A complete product, ready for both stores.
Salón gives the client a complete product they own, from sign-up to paid upgrade, on infrastructure that can grow with its users.
- One mobile app now runs on both iOS and Android.
- New users can sign up in a few taps with phone, Google, Facebook or email.
- Artists find each other by profession, taste and location.
- Matches turn into conversations with voice notes, music and video.
- A premium tier is in place from day one.
- The cloud set-up is ready to grow with the user base.
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