IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

50% of U.S. vinyl buyers don't own a record player

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Direct Support for Artists

Buyers prioritize fair compensation over streaming's low payouts, favoring Bandcamp, donations, or physical sales.
"buy to support the artist (usually $40-$50 for an album)" – toomuchtodo
"I always increase the suggested price of an album or track on Bandcamp" – nine_k
"Spotify doesn’t pay artists appropriately and we want to help sustain the music we love" – superultra

2. Collectible/Decorative Artifact

Vinyl serves as art, wall decor, or identity token, often unplayed.
"Physical media has shifted... to a 'token of identity'" – ResisBey
"vinyl albums in frames where they cannot be listened to" – tssva
"they make fantastic, cool wall art. That is the extent of why i buy them" – 827a

3. Ritualistic/Intentional Experience

Friction enhances engagement, curation, and full-album focus vs. streaming.
"introduce friction... results in better libraries" – exitb
"forces me to actively listen to the music... laying in the floor and listening from start to finish" – falkensmaize
"intentional listening and love the album cover art" – garciasn

🚀 Project Ideas

[The Vault: Artist Patronage Portal]

Summary

  • A "direct-to-artist" donation platform that mimics the Bandcamp experience but replaces digital "purchases" with direct, frictionless support tokens.
  • Solves the problem of fans wanting to "give money to artists" without paying for unused plastic or high platform fees, providing DRM-free downloads or "tokens of identity" in return.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Independent musicians and "super-fans" who prefer direct support over streaming.
Core Feature One-click tipping/donations linked to artist socials with optional high-res file delivery.
Tech Stack Stripe Connect, Next.js, Cloudflare R2
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: {Small flat fee per transaction or "Pay what you want" platform tip}.

Notes

  • HN users specifically asked for this: "I would like to have a donation button on an artist website so I can donate and then download the album I like" (frankzander).
  • Addresses the "middleman" fatigue mentioned by users wanting to avoid Spotify and big labels.

[SleeveNote: Digital-to-Physical Merch bridge]

Summary

  • A service that allows artists to sell "Sleeve-Only" physical products—high-quality 12x12 album covers with art booklets—that include a unique QR/NFC code for lossless digital access.
  • Solves the problem of "50% of vinyl buyers not owning a player" by offering the aesthetic and room-decoration value of vinyl without the e-waste of unused plastic or the high cost of pressing records.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Gen Z music fans, collectors, and artists looking for lower-margin physical merch.
Core Feature High-fidelity print-on-demand album sleeves including NFC chips for digital playback.
Tech Stack Shopify API, NFC Tag encoding, Python (image processing)
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: {B2B manufacturing margin + B2C fulfillment fee}.

Notes

  • Directly addresses the trend where "dorm room walls are decorated with vinyl albums in frames where they cannot be listened to" (tssva).
  • Responds to industry waste concerns: "It’s a lot of plastic. A lot of waste... people want the cover art" (superultra).

[AnalogScrobbler]

Summary

  • A mobile app or hardware-integrated tool that uses ambient song recognition to automatically log ("scrobble") physical media plays (Vinyl, CD, Cassette) to Last.fm or a private database.
  • Solves the "data gap" for collectors who want their "Analog Spotify Wrapped" and desire to track their "intentional listening" habits alongside their digital ones.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Audiophiles and physical media collectors who care about listening data.
Core Feature Passive "always-on" (optional) audio fingerprinter that recognizes songs and logs play time.
Tech Stack ACRCloud API / ShazamKit, Swift/Kotlin, Last.fm API
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • This was explicitly called out as a "someday project" by a commenter: "figure out how set up an automated workflow to use ambient song detection... and scrobble it to last.fm" (buildsjets).
  • Appeals to the HN user's desire to "track the group of records you enjoy" without manual friction (exitb).

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