Apptisan #36 - Talking with MD Vinyl’s Creator: Turn Your Phone into a Vinyl Record Player? How a Music Enthusiast Built a Boutique App That Outranked TikTok
For our 36th edition, we welcome Tom Liu, co-founder of MD Studio. As an indie product studio, MD Studio has launched several boutique apps including OffScreen, MD Clock, and MD Widget.
Name: MD Vinyl
Developer / Team: MD Studio
Platforms: iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, Android
Read this newsletter issue in Chinese (中文) .
Please describe your product.
MD Vinyl is a music app that brings the nostalgic experience of vinyl records into the digital age. After connecting to Apple Music or Spotify, users can experience music in the form of vinyl records. Version 1.0 was a vinyl record widget, in 2.0 we added an elegant Now Playing display, and in our recently released 3.0, users can directly select records within the app and start listening.
Was there a pivotal moment that inspired your product’s creation?
As a music enthusiast and vinyl collector, I’ve accumulated numerous records and make exploring vinyl culture and hunting for records part of my daily routine. While streaming music has become increasingly convenient, listening to vinyl is actually more complicated. It requires specialized equipment and buying records is expensive, but this process has made me more intentional about listening to music.
Music typically serves as background to my daily life and work, but now I specifically set aside time after work to listen to vinyl. I learn about the stories behind albums and musicians, and I carefully appreciate album covers. After spending countless afternoons and evenings listening to many records, I realized we could share this experience with more people through an app.
What makes your product unique compared to others in the market?
MD Vinyl isn’t just a music player or an Apple Music client—it focuses on the process of music listening. We haven’t tried to include every possible feature, only the simple actions of selecting a record and starting playback. What matters to us is whether we can convey that difficult-to-describe feeling I get when listening to vinyl records.
Browsing and selecting albums in the music library with a swipe of your finger mimics how I flip through and choose records from my vinyl collection at home. Moving the needle onto the record, watching it spin, hearing that initial pop, and then the music starting to play—it’s consistent with a real record player, though we’ve eliminated the need to press a power button. We’re not aiming for 100% skeuomorphism by simply replicating a vinyl player on your phone; instead, we’re seeking a balance.
True vinyl users are certainly in the minority, but through our UI and UX, we’ve simplified and simulated the authentic vinyl experience to give users a deeper appreciation of music. In Vinyl Player, music is no longer just background noise.
Most apps have shifted to subscription models, yet MD Vinyl seems to have chosen a one-time purchase approach. What considerations informed this decision?
MD Studio apps typically start from a small idea, and we believe this type of product is better suited for a one-time purchase rather than subscription. As we continue to iterate and evolve the product, we gradually increase the purchase price. When we feel the product has reached a certain value threshold, we’ll transition to a subscription + one-time purchase model. Throughout this process, all existing users won’t need to pay again for our product—with Vinyl Player, the earlier you buy, the more value you get.
What has been some memorable feedback since your product’s release?
One piece of feedback that really stood out to me: We designed a small line of text in the inner circle of the vinyl record that includes the name of the band from the first vinyl record I purchased, along with the names of our designer Nikki and developer Hehe. It was just a small Easter egg, originally meant to honor our team’s creative journey, but later we received an unexpected user email. At the end of their feedback, they specifically wrote: “give my thanks to Nikki and Hehe.” I was particularly happy about this because it meant the user not only noticed this Easter egg but also felt a sense of warmth and connection because of it.
This feedback made me realize that subtle, perhaps not obvious design elements can actually touch users. It encouraged us to pay even more attention to details in subsequent versions, not just adding features. This way, users can continuously make new discoveries during exploration, developing a deeper sense of connection with the product.
In this era of rapid AI development, MD Studio appears more focused on creating products with emotional connection and ritualistic experience. How do you view the current AI app boom? Do you have plans to incorporate AI technology into your products in the future?
AI is excellent—my work and life already depend on it. For example, I use AI to learn about jazz and classical music knowledge and to introduce me to records. However, we will continue to focus on what we do best. Our products still have a significant gap compared to world-class products, and we can use AI to help us reach that goal. If there are appropriate scenarios for AI, we will integrate it into MD Studio products.
Are there any products out there that you feel deserve more recognition?
One product I think more people should know about is the game Baba Is You. It’s essentially a Sokoban-style logic puzzle game, but by introducing the concept of rule manipulation, it expands this classic gameplay to an astonishing degree. Each time I reach a new level, I’m amazed by its unique rule settings and puzzle design. Even though I might get stuck on some levels for a long time, the sense of achievement when solving them is irreplaceable.
The charm of Baba Is You lies in showing the infinite possibilities within traditional gameplay, and this innovative spirit parallels our exploration in the music player field. It makes me believe that even in a domain that seems settled, you can still reignite users’ enthusiasm and expectations through new perspectives and design approaches.
As a team that has created many user-beloved products, what do you think newcomers in the industry most commonly overlook?
I think it’s initial intention—what is your purpose for creating a product? Is it interest? A way to make money? A desire to bring something beautiful to the world? Once you’ve clarified this, just work toward that goal. Any approach is valid.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you envision for the future.
I’m Tom. I became an iPhone user in 2009 and fell in love with the Apple ecosystem. In 2011, I worked on Mac Apps at doit.im; in 2013, I worked at Alibaba building cloud storage and email apps for Mac; in 2016, I created Price Tag with Alen; and in 2018, we established MD Studio to continue investing in the app space—We’ve been crafting apps for 14 years. Our products include MD Vinyl, MD Widgets, MD Clock, OffScreen, MD Fonts, Dtd Playlist, Dtd Sounds, Placify, and more. Our MD Clock App was nominated for an Apple Design Award in 2022.
Currently, our team is primarily focused on iterating MD Vinyl and MD Widgets. In the future, we plan to add more practical features to MD Vinyl, enhance the user experience, and try some exciting creative ideas. While these concepts haven’t been fully realized yet, I’m very excited about them. The MD Vinyl team also includes product designer Alen, visual designer Nikki, and developer Hehe, who have made tremendous contributions to the birth and development of MD Vinyl. I feel very fortunate to work with them and particularly appreciate their efforts and talents!
At the same time, we love small, beautiful applications and the craftspeople behind them, and we enjoy making friends with everyone. MD Studio invested in Grow App in 2021, and in the future, we hope to help more like-minded designers and developers create great products. Everyone is welcome to schedule a Coffee Chat with me.
About Apptisan
Apptisan is a portmanteau of “application” and “artisan”, signifying “a weekly exploration into the world of apps and the passionate artisans who create them.” Each issue is a conversation with global creators, aiming to uncover and present intriguing products to a wider audience.
For those who prefer Chinese, you can subscribe via Quaily. Creators interested in featuring their products are encouraged to submit them through our form, and we’ll be in touch promptly.
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