Overview
MEO is a conceptual app designed to reduce the admin burden on self-employed musicians by unifying gig tracking, invoicing, expenses, and audience engagement tools. Unlike generic finance apps, MEO is purpose-built for the unique workflows of gigging performers.
Case Summary
Product Vision:
To provide a digital toolkit that empowers musicians to feel confident as self-employed professionals, reducing admin stress and enabling them to focus more on performance and creativity.
Discovered User Problem:
Through interviews and personal experience, I uncovered recurring challenges:
Musicians often relied on notebooks or calendars, with little clarity on total monthly income.
Forgetting whether gigs were paid was common, creating cashflow anxiety.
Most saw tax returns as daunting; receipts piled in boxes until year-end.
Consolidating gigs, invoices, expenses, and taxes was overwhelming, stealing time from practice and performance.
Outcomes (anticipated):
A purpose-built product prototype.
A validated problem space via 8 musician interviews.
Early wireframes and personas prepared for usability testing.
Strong positioning as a future niche product with subscription potential.
Process Highlights
Product Team
Solo project — initiated during my UX studies and informed by my professional work as a musician.
My Responsibilities
Research, persona creation, competitor analysis, ideation, user flow design, wireframing, branding, and future prototype planning.
Methodology
Iterative prototyping and live testing at gigs. Insights came from direct user behavior in context rather than formal lab testing.
Project Plan
Semi-structured interviews with 8 musicians to capture real-world admin struggles.
Persona development to represent different musician types.
Competitor benchmarking against finance apps (QuickBooks, Monzo) and booking systems (agency tools).
Iterative design process: define → ideate → wireframe → test → refine.
Discovery and Ideation
Musicians need simplicity: any tool must be frictionless, or it won’t be adopted.
Consistency matters: Musicians craved visibility into recurring income to feel stability.
A major financial literacy gap exists: most felt unprepared for tax.
Many desired independence from agencies and wanted control over their own career tools.
This led to the product vision: a one-stop toolkit for musicians’ professional and creative needs.
Idea Prioritisation
Must-have: Gig logging, automated invoices, payment tracking.
Should-have: Expense logging with receipt scanning, tax-ready reports.
Could-have: Shareable musician profile (availability, media, song list).
Won’t-have (yet): Advanced integrations like live voting displays — future scope once core product adoption is validated.
Prototyping
Created core wireframes for gig entry, invoice generation, and financial overview.
Designed flows for both financial and audience-facing features (QR song requests, shareable profile).
Early branding explored positioning musicians as empowered “self-employed professionals.”
Usability testing of wireframes with participants is the next step.
Outcomes
User Impact (anticipated): A tool that simplifies admin and reduces financial anxiety for musicians.
Business Impact (future): Potential subscription model with free + premium tiers. Premium features could include advanced insights, deep record exports, and proof-of-income PDFs for tax and loans.
Professional Growth: Learned how to design for real-time, high-pressure environments where technology must reduce stress rather than add it.
Reflection
With more time and resource I will:
Conduct usability testing with wireframes and iterate further.
Build a high-fidelity prototype to validate flows.
Explore launch potential and market demand for MEO as my first live app.
