Sound Streaming Service

"Sound" (until 2020 - Zvooq, until 2022 - "SberSound") is an Internet streaming audio service that allows you to listen to music, podcasts and audiobooks.

2023

The most popular features among users for the year

On December 20, 2023, the Sound company announced the summing up of the product results of the year, as well as told which features were the most in demand among users in 2023.

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According to the company, HiFi streaming Sound in 2023 has become even more technologically advanced: many functions have appeared and the interface has changed. With personalized Sound, the user can control their mood, productivity and broaden their horizons.

For 2023, Sound took steps towards hyperpersonalization and socialization of the service. Each user is unique, as is his habit of consuming audio content. Thanks to the efforts of the Sound team, we are dynamically developing, and all this year we have been investing in optimizing the user experience. Sound traditionally sums up the results of the year in all areas of the company's work, among which one of the most important is the development of the product. We share the results of the outgoing year. told Mikhail Ilyichev, CEO of HiFi streaming Sound

2023 was the year for HiFi streaming. Sound is a period of global change on the way to hyperpersonalization. The service presented a personal recommendation wave "Sound Power," available to users not only in the application and web version, but also on smart speakers SberBoom the SberBoom Mini.

"The Power of Sound" is a musical stream that adjusts to each listener: it takes into account their interests, tastes and even context. The interaction with the "Power of Sound" resembles a conversation with a person, remaining individual for each thanks to AI technologies, which provide a variety of tracks and scenarios for their selection, depending on the wishes and requests of the user. The wave was often included on sunny spring Fridays, but the peak day in terms of the number of unique users was the equator of September - 14.09.2023. Every month, "The Power of Sound" is listened to by every fourth user of HiFi streaming.

Sound constantly optimizes the product, and "Sound Power" received an upgrade - wave tuning. Now it can be configured to play frequently listened to tracks and those that have never come across in the stream before, as well as mark the language (Russian, foreign or without words) and choose between "popular" and "rare" compositions. With the help of a special tuner, you can set your desired mood and your preferences up to different shades: from explosive joy to light sadness. This change has gained particular popularity among users over 35 years old: most often it was used in the fall, and the peak day for setting the wave was October 14, 2023.

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HiFi streaming has updated the application and completely changed the interface: it has become more convenient by reducing partitions from five to three. The service found out that a large number of sections can confuse users, and by the name it is not always obvious what is hidden in them. Now the structure consists of: "Ether," "Review" and "Collection." They are created on the basis of user requests and the principle "Sound for each of your own."

"Ether" using AI predicts the desires of a person and gives out current content at the moment with a minimum of action. "Review" offers a simple quick navigation of the catalog and shows all the variety of content and collections: music, audiobooks, podcasts, audio guides on any topic. The Search also lives here. In the "Collection" that can be customized, everything that users need is stored in a convenient format. For example, you can assemble your own audio book shelf. In addition, the "Collection" contains all the artists, playlists, albums and even the history of the "Catcher" requests that the listener likes - features that know how to determine the track that sounds next to the user by audio fragment. To immediately get the content into the "Collection," just click on the "+" button in the player.

Sound differs from classical music streaming in its bias towards socialization. Users got the opportunity to be both consumers and participants in the process, contributors. This is an important point for the product, since you can transfer a music collection from any service to "one click," but leaving a product where there is active social interaction and connections is already more difficult. Sound users have the opportunity to create their own public playlists, see who is listening to the same track with him in the moment and how many people have subscribed to the profile. Moreover, you can go to the profile of users who listen to the same track, subscribe to them, learn about the match of tastes and listen to a joint playlist created by Sound based on general preferences. This is the way to find something new for yourself through listeners with similar tastes, as well as share their compositions with them.

Also in the Sound appeared the Bell - a feature that allows you to follow the releases of your favorite artists, the releases of expected podcasts, in order to hear them first. The Bell will also notify that the user to whom the person is subscribed has added a playlist. The bell "rings" when the musician has a track or album. In addition, the entire history of releases with ranking by chronology is preserved: for the last 7, 30 or more days. Bell stores information about updating playlists from the Collection. Ficha has become popular with users over 35. Since its launch, the Bell has called most often on September 17, 2023. In addition to notifications on the app, Bell sent an average of more than 2 million push notifications per month, most often on Fridays.

HiFi streaming has offered users an easy way to seamlessly transfer playback of already playing music to smart speakers. Just phone touch the SberBoom or SberBoom Mini speaker and listen to music. Music Touch technology, implemented in conjunction with the team, SberDevices allows you to transfer the music played in the Sound application to the smartphone speaker with one touch.

Streaming has launched a special section with audiobooks - a personal library in the "Collection," where favorite copies will be stored. The books had a brief description, and users were able to increase the playback rate: listen at several speed modes up to a double increase in speed. Thanks to the changes, everyone can form their own bookshelf and plan the reading order. The launch of the section was accompanied by a large-scale replenishment of the catalog: audiobooks appeared for all occasions: from Viktor Pelevin to Asi Lavrinovich. The sound added works from publishers: EKSMO, AST, Sinbad, Vimbo and others. All audiobooks are available to users inside the subscription - they can be listened to without restrictions.

On the eve of Children's Day, Sound introduced an update to the Children's Section and took steps so that a HiFi streaming device could be put in the hands of a child. The sound added navigation, understandable to both parents and children. The audio service interviewed users, studied external and internal search queries, including the family of virtual assistants. Based on them, I grouped the content by main categories - requests. Now you can get to audio tales, lullabies in two clicks. Updated collections by category also appeared in search results. It is enough, for example, to type "Bedtime Stories" or "Children's Books" in the search and the desired category will be displayed. Characters created by AI appeared in the section, whose mission is to additionally orient users. In addition, in the application settings there is an explisite mode that will exclude content "not for children's ears" from playback. And with the help of special toggle switches, you can choose the age of the child, the duration of the playlist and even a suitable situation: for example, if you need to take children on a tedious road or prepare for bed.

Adding "Daddy's Tales" and "Baby Girls" sections to the children's section

The sound on June 1, 2023 presented an update to the children's section.

The team introduced changes to the family-wide section. It was created in order to help parents in the process of raising children, to occupy babies when parents need time for themselves, as well as to unite young and adults for pleasant joint leisure. In this section there are thematic audio selections for various occasions for kids, preschool children and schoolchildren - from music and fairy tales to poetry and children's radio. The content of the children's section is available even without the Internet - just download everything you need in advance and listen from anywhere in the world. In the application settings, you can select an escalation mode that will exclude content "not for children's ears" from playback.

Ahead of Children's Day, the Sound team presented two draft children's section. "Daddy's Tales" - magical audio stories performed by famous artists. Direct participants of the Burito project, Dmitry Koldun, Ruslan Tagiyev told the guests of the event about him. And the parenting podcast "My Malysharik" with host Anna Geller. He was presented by the producer of the TV series "Malyshariki" and "Tim and Tom," GC "Ricky" Anya Korableva. It raises questions about children, and invited experts in psychology, health, nutrition and just experienced parents share knowledge and advice. The guests of the podcast were pediatrician and blogger Ekaterina Yurieva, children's neuropsychologist Alla Kozurova, family psychologist Ekaterina Murashova, author of safe behavior training Olga Bochkova and editor-in-chief of the online publication Mel Nadia Papudoglo. The updated media library was presented in the STUDIO space, where all guests, regardless of age, were offered to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of childhood and truly enjoy the magic of the moment with their families.

The Sound team understands that parenthood is a special skill. Moms and dads are busy with a hundred things at the same time: they have time to work, and clean up at home, and cook food, and you shouldn't even talk about sleep. In this endless race, it's easy to lose contact with both your child and yourself. The sound invites adults to pause in this endless stream and rest and return to an atmosphere of carelessness with their own children. To do this, the children's section of Sound has everything from audiobooks and collections for teaching the smallest in game form to soundtracks for your favorite cartoons in HiFi quality, which, according to research, is less tired, more involving and gives more joy, "said Nikita Filimonov, Marketing Director of HiFi Streaming Sound.

The children's Sound section is actively growing, and to make it easier for users to find what they need, the Sound team has improved navigation. The main categories are now closer, the content is grouped by the most frequent requests in the Sound voice assistants and Families service. Salute Now you can find fairy tales, educational educational and content, children's books, chargers, a universe of favorite characters and much more in two clicks. Updated collections by content categories also appeared in the search results of the service. It is enough to enter the name of the same name, for example, "We sing and have fun" and the desired category will immediately appear in the search. If you need to put the baby to bed, choose "bedtime stories." To wake up - cheerful music for the morning in the category of "charging." Updated navigation will help parents spend less time searching for content for children, and children - navigate a variety of opportunities through vivid and recognizable images.

As part of the May 31 event, the Soyuzmultfilm film studio and the Okko online cinema presented the guests with a new series of the Prostokvashino cartoon, which celebrates its 5th anniversary in 2023.

Stars, bloggers and journalists with children gathered for the holiday, including Vladimir Levkin, Polina Ryzhova, Alina Akilova. As well as for children and adults, Kukutiki performed on stage, who are among the top children's artists in HiFi streaming Sound. These are five cheerful friends living in a real cartoon: two kids, a pig, a raccoon and a mouse, who are very fond of dancing and singing for kids.

2022

Disappearing from the App Store

The Sound app has disappeared from the App Store. This became known on September 2, 2022.

The company declined to comment on the removal of the app.

In April, the service removed the Sber prefix from the name.

"Sberbank" fell under the blockers sanctions USA on April 6.

In May, Sber warned partners about the sale of the Okko online cinema and the withdrawal of the shareholders of Sound, SberCloud, Evotor and the CST. The bank explained this by "updating the strategy."

The application "Sberbank Online," "SberBusiness," "SberInvestor X" and others disappeared from the App Store in April. Copies - SBOL and Invstr - appeared in August and June, on August 23 SBOL became unavailable for download.

The App Store for September 2022 has applications SberFood, SberLib, SberLogistics, SberMarket and SberMegaMarket The^[1].

Rename to Sound

In April 2022, due to sanctions against Sberbank, the mention of the brand was removed from the name.^[2]

2021

Availability in CarPlay and Android Auto multimedia systems

On December 6, 2021, the company SberSound"" announced that it was expanding the field of user experience: an update to the service was released, one of the main innovations of which was support Apple Android for Carplay/Auto, together with improved HiFi sound and built-in acoustics car for listening. audio content This update will make it easier smartphone for premium users to use in the car.

Take your favorite music on the road, and audiobooks podcasts the radio stations have become easier - the SberSound application has become available in multimedia systems autos that support CarPlay and Android Auto. These technologies make it possible to duplicate functionality smartphone with a basic set of functions on the car screen: the ability to receive and make voice calls, listen to music in HiFi quality and podcasts from a smartphone or through streaming audio services, listen to and record messages, by voice use a mobile navigator and online search. With the help of several clicks, the driver will be able to switch from the car screen to phone and vice versa.

"In this SberSound update, thanks to Carplay and Android Auto, launching your favorite music in a car has become much easier, because now you don't need to stretch and hit the small buttons on the phone. Everything is available at hand on the standard display screen. Motorists can listen to their collection of tracks in HiFi quality along with the acoustics of the car through the multimedia system interface using built-in control (on the steering wheel, media system, etc.), "- says Sergey Burdov, Product Manager "SberSound."

The application launches with the necessary elements and demanded functions, such as - the main page with a list of playlists, a user collection with favorite tracks, as well as a history of listening for a smooth transition from a mobile phone to a device in a car. SberSound plans not to stop and continuously improve the functionality available in cars. Soon more different content for listening will appear, including the addition of a children's section and sports broadcasts. Waves will also be available - a personalized audio broadcasting format that combines the relevant from radio and streaming, without the need to manually switch audio content while driving.

Availability of Salyut Virtual Assistants

On September 8, 2021 Sberbank , it was announced that SberSound appeared in the audio service. virtual assistants "Salute"

Virtual assistants "Salute" are able to determine the song on the go, as well as find it in the collection "SberSound" so that the user can add the find to his playlist and return to it at any time. And if a person wants to find out the history of the track or the biography of the author, the assistants will immediately provide the necessary information.

Virtual assistants "Salute" shorten the path to their favorite tracks, podcasts and other audio content to one command - voice or "tap." Now, to find something and turn it on, you just have to say it. Simultaneously with listening to music or podcasts, Salyut assistants will help with solving other everyday issues - for example, finding out the weather before leaving home. In addition, they will entertain the intellectual game or even help get advice on government services.

Soon assistants "Salute" in the application "SberSound" will learn to adjust the volume, find out the preferences and mood of users and much more. All this will make it easier to manage audio content and increase the level of user comfort. As a result, the border between the consumption of audio content and interaction with the assistant will almost be erased, and the user will seamlessly move to other services of Sberbank and partners of its ecosystem and "return" back to SberSound, - said the Mikhail Ilyichev general director of the audio service ""SberSound

Ability to listen to music with lossless compression

In June 2021, Sberbank announced the launch of the possibility of listening to music with compression without loss in SberSound. SberSound subscription users have 35 million tracks available in this format.^[3]

2020

Change the navigation within an application

SberSound audio reception service at the request of the audience has improved navigation within the application: now in the "Collection" section, where users' favorite audio content is stored, it has become more convenient to navigate. Sberbank announced this on December 17, 2020.

All the most valuable content is now available in one click: the sections "music," "podcasts" and "audiobooks" are moved from the bottom to the very top of the first screen of the collection.

Moving away from the previous flat structure will add comfort to users: it will become easier for them to find their favorite. In addition, it will be easier for SberSound developers to enrich sections and expand the line of audio content formats in 2021. For example, add entities such as audio plays, slipcasts and meditations, or divide podcasts into adults and children.

The Collection contains the audio content that the user retained for himself in order to be able to quickly return to him in the future. In the previous version, on the first screen of the Collection, the user saw only the music he liked and did not immediately notice the rest of the content. In the updated Collection, all content is displayed on the first screen, and navigation will reduce search time - you can use swipes to move between tracks, artists, albums, playlists and episodes, "said Anton Pepelyaev, SberSound's product.

• The Show Downloaded Only radio button now displays all content on your device.
• The create playlist button is now at hand, immediately when you open the Collection.
• "Listening History" is now available on the first screen of the Collection. This section stores all podcast tracks and episodes that the user included, grouped by listening date..

Launching free podcasts

SberSound has launched free podcasts. The company announced this on November 5, 2020.

The streaming service expands the line of free audio content: now, in addition to licensed music, you can listen to a popular format on the platform - podcasts.

As of November 2020, several hundred conversational, documentary and artistic podcasts on various topics are available in the SberSound service: it, cinema, science space, healthy lifestyle, music, genealogy and others. Among them are BeardyCast about technology, gadgets and media culture, "Batina Console" about video games, the investigative series "Testimony" for thrill lovers and "Model for Assembly" - the Russian a transfer of the 90s, personifying the symbiosis of fantastic literature and music. Her author's sound is achieved through a combination voices of Russian actor and radio host Vlad Kopp and a selection of music in the modern genre. electronic engineers

The pace of human life is constantly accelerating. There is more and more information around us, and there is not enough time to consume it. People are looking for alternative ways to perceive it, complementing reading and watching video by listening to audio. Radio broadcasts, audiobooks, podcasts - all these formats will take up more and more space in people's lives. On a treadmill, driving or walking, it is much more convenient to take something by ear than to see it in a smartphone. Our task is to create an international service, for which it is necessary to make SberSound the source of a variety of types of audio content. Free podcasts are the first step towards diversity. In the coming months, we plan to increase their number to several thousand, "said Pavel Vardiev, who is responsible for the direction of podcasts in the company SberSound.

Previously, podcasts were available only to users with a premium subscription, but now everyone who downloaded SberSound applications or went to the service's website will be able to hear them online sber-zvuk.com.

In the application, the button to go to the "Podcasts" section is located in the lower menu. By clicking on it, a person falls into the desired directory. In addition to the list of podcasts, there is a "Last Arrivals" block, where, for the convenience of the user, the SberSound command brings out fresh releases.

On the site, sber-zvuk.com link to go to the "Podcasts" section is located at the top right of the screen.

Creating an audio streaming service under the SberSound brand

Sberbank on September 23, 2020 informed TAdviser about the creation of an audio streaming service based on an independent player - the Sound company. Read more here.

The service will receive the SberSound brand and will combine 40 million songs on its platform from the world's leading copyright holders (Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group), local and independent recording studios, as well as a collection of audiobooks and podcasts.

"Sound" is an independent music service in. Russia The service has existed since 2010. In addition to the Sberbank ecosystem, it is available in the same name application for,, iOS Android as well as on the website sber-zvuk.com.

The mission of "Sound" is to help millions of users find the right music for any moment: when it's fun or sad, for the road or the sport. The free version allows you to listen to ready-made playlists and receive personal recommendations.

The number of registered users of "Sound" as of September 2020 exceeds 6 million. The service is available to users in Russia, as well as the CIS countries and operates in 11 countries. As of September 2020, Sound is cooperating with mobile operators in Russia and the CIS: MegaFon, Tele2, Beeline (Kazakhstan), Beeline (Russia), MTS, Kyivstar, Azercell, A1, Ucell.

Links

Link to the site of the service "Sound"

Notes