Project Overview

Developed ACustomSong, a specialized e-commerce platform connecting customers with professional musicians to create personalized songs for special occasions. The platform handles the complete lifecycle from custom order placement through collaborative creation to final delivery, featuring real-time communication between clients and artists.

This innovative platform solves the challenge of commissioning personalized music by providing a streamlined process for customers to share their requirements, collaborate with musicians, provide feedback, and receive professionally produced custom songs. The system manages everything from initial consultation to final product delivery with secure payment processing.

Key Features

• Custom Order Management: Intuitive form system capturing customer requirements including occasion type, preferred music style, lyrics preferences, and special instructions
• Real-time Client Interaction: Built-in messaging system enabling direct communication between customers and assigned musicians for feedback and revisions
• Artist Portfolio System: Showcase of musician profiles with audio samples, specializations, ratings, and past work examples helping customers make informed choices
• Order Tracking Dashboard: Transparent progress tracking from order placement through composition, recording, production, and final delivery stages
• Revision Management: Structured workflow for customers to request changes with version control tracking all iterations
• Secure Payment Integration: Milestone-based payment system with 50% advance and remaining upon delivery, supporting multiple payment methods
• Audio Preview System: Secure streaming of work-in-progress recordings for customer approval before final production
• Digital Delivery: Automated delivery of final songs in multiple formats (MP3, WAV, FLAC) via secure download links
• Review & Rating System: Post-delivery feedback collection helping maintain quality standards and build artist reputation
• Admin Dashboard: Comprehensive backend for managing orders, monitoring artist performance, handling disputes, and generating business analytics

Technical Implementation

Backend Framework: Django with Django REST Framework providing robust API endpoints for frontend applications. Implemented custom middleware for request logging and performance monitoring.

Database: PostgreSQL with complex schema managing relationships between customers, artists, orders, revisions, messages, and payments. Optimized queries ensuring fast page loads even with large audio files.

Media Management: AWS S3 for secure storage of audio files with CloudFront CDN for fast global delivery. Implemented signed URLs for secure time-limited access to preview files.

Real-time Features: Django Channels for WebSocket connections enabling instant message delivery and real-time order status updates without page refreshes.

Payment Processing: Razorpay integration with webhook handling for automatic payment status updates. Implemented escrow-like system holding payments until customer approval.

Notification System: Multi-channel notification delivery via email (AWS SES), SMS (AWS SNS), and WhatsApp Business API ensuring customers never miss important updates.

Audio Processing: FFmpeg integration for format conversion, audio normalization, and watermarking preview files to prevent unauthorized distribution.

Project Impact

• Successfully delivered 500+ custom songs with 96% customer satisfaction rate
• Reduced average order completion time from 21 days to 12 days through streamlined communication
• Achieved 85% first-draft approval rate indicating accurate requirement capture
• Generated ₹15+ lakhs in revenue within first year of operation
• Built network of 25+ professional musicians with verified portfolios
• Reduced payment disputes by 90% through clear milestone-based payment system
• Improved customer retention with 40% repeat order rate for different occasions
• Automated 70% of order management tasks reducing administrative overhead

Customer Journey

Discovery: Customer browses artist portfolios filtered by music genre and occasion type

Order Placement: Fills detailed form specifying requirements, occasion date, budget, and special requests

Artist Assignment: System matches order with appropriate musician based on style, availability, and expertise

Initial Consultation: Artist contacts customer via platform messaging to clarify requirements and set expectations

First Draft: Artist uploads preview of composed song, customer receives notification to review

Revision Cycle: Customer provides feedback, artist makes adjustments, process repeats until approval

Final Production: Upon approval, artist produces high-quality final version with professional mixing and mastering

Delivery: Customer receives download links for multiple formats via email and WhatsApp

Feedback: System prompts customer to rate experience and provide testimonial

Challenges Overcome

• Designed flexible requirements capture form accommodating diverse song types (birthday, anniversary, proposal, tribute, etc.)
• Built efficient audio streaming system with bandwidth optimization for preview files
• Implemented fair dispute resolution process protecting both customer and artist interests
• Created intuitive interface for artists with varying technical proficiency
• Ensured GDPR-compliant handling of personal information shared in song lyrics
• Developed automated quality checks ensuring delivered files meet technical standards