Splice Sounds
Napkin sketch to 9‑figure valuation
In 2015, I led the design for the launch of Splice Sounds — a subscription marketplace for samples, now used by millions of producers worldwide.
Finding product-market fit
Before Sounds, Splice's flagship product ("GitHub for music") was a major unlock for producers, but hadn't yet gained mainstream adoption.
At the time, samples were sold in album-like packs. You couldn't preview the pack till after paying $20–200.
CEO Steve Martocci had the idea for a subscription marketplace for samples, and napkin-sketched an iTunes-esque screen layout.
I shaped and designed a v1. Within weeks we launched. Soon after, we surpassed $1M in monthly revenue.
Rewiring the industry
Today, Splice does $100M+ in annual revenue.
Sounds has had plenty of new features in the decade since launch, but the essential UX and structure remain close to the v1 we launched with.
Every major competitor launched after Sounds, each with a similar UX.