Archived – a music marketplace platform

Platform Functions

  • Producers: Sell beats, discover artists to collaborate with, and engage with the community.
  • Artists: Purchase beats, collaborate on tracks, and interact with fans and fellow artists.
  • Fans: Pool funds to unlock unreleased tracks, and connect with artists, producers, and other fans.

App Structure

  • Beat Marketplace – Producers can sell or auction beats; artists can browse, purchase instantly, or place bids.
  • Collaboration Hub – Artists can discover opens (unfinished tracks) and purchase them to complete with their own contributions.
  • Exclusive Releases – Fans can access unreleased tracks either through individual purchase or group-buy contributions, pooling funds to unlock high-value music.
  • Direct Messaging & Requests – Users can network with artists and producers in a LinkedIn-style system.
  • Artists: Request specific beats/opens from producers.
  • Producers: Respond to artist requests and pitch their work directly.
  • Discovery – Explore and engage with up-and-coming underground artists and their catalogs.
  • Payment System – Integrated with Apple Pay and PayPal for secure and seamless transactions.

Project Goals

  1. Payment System – Secure transactions between sellers and buyers using Stripe.
  2. Community Engagement – Seamless direct messaging across producers, artists, and fans.
  3. Media Management – Store and serve MP3, WAV, MP4, snippets, GIFs, and music canvases.
  4. Backend Innovation – Audio compression and ML-based recommendation engine tailored to user listening history and music taste.

Tech Stack

  • Frontend: Swift (iOS app)
  • Backend & Database: Google Firebase (authentication, storage, real-time data)
  • Payments: Stripe

I designed this project because I noticed a gap in existing platforms for small, independent producers and artists to collaborate and grow. Friends of mine who are artists and producers also expressed the need for a community-driven app that makes collaboration, beat purchasing, and fan engagement more accessible. Archived aims to fill this gap by combining commerce, community, and collaboration into a single platform.

Similar existing softwares

  • BeatStars – A global subscription-based licensing platform for artists and producers to collaborate, license, and distribute music. This is the closest to what I plan to build.
  • SoundCloud – A streaming and sharing service that inspires the UI/UX design for my project.
  • BandLab – A DAW and social music platform that integrates collaborative creation and distribution. While its collaborative DAW features are compelling, such integration is less feasible without a partnership license, so my app will focus on community-first functionality.
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Link to Github: https://github.com/troythetre/CMSI-4072-SeniorProject-II-Archived.git

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