Step-by-Step Guide: Building an Apple Music Clone with Adalo

This comprehensive tutorial will walk you through building a functional music streaming app using Adalo's no-code platform. You'll learn how to create a working app with audio playback, playlist management, user profiles, and publishing workflows—all in a matter of weeks without writing code.

Understanding the Core Components of a Music Streaming App

Before diving into building, it's essential to understand what makes a music app functional. A music streaming application requires several interconnected elements:

Essential Features to Replicate

Your Apple Music clone will need:

• Audio playback system with play, pause, skip, and shuffle controls
• Music library database storing songs, albums, artists, and metadata
• User authentication for personalized experiences
• Playlist creation and management capabilities
• Search functionality for discovering content
• User profiles with listening history and preferences
• Responsive design that works across mobile and web platforms

The good news? Adalo's built-in relational database can manage these complex relationships between users, songs, playlists, and artists without requiring backend development expertise.

Why Choose a No-Code App Builder for Your Music Platform

Traditional app development for music streaming services can cost $50,000-$100,000 and take 6-12 months with a development team. No-code platforms like Adalo eliminate these barriers entirely.

The Power of Visual Development

With Adalo, you can:

• Build native mobile apps without learning Swift or Kotlin
• Deploy to web, App Store, and Google Play from a single build
• Build apps 2x faster compared to traditional coding
• Reduce costs significantly

The platform's drag-and-drop interface means if you can make a slide deck, you can make an app—no prior technical expertise required.

Prerequisites and Initial Setup

Step 1: Create Your Adalo Account and Choose Your Plan

1. Visit Adalo.com and sign up
2. Click "Create New App"
3. Select "Mobile App" (works for iOS, Android, and web)
4. Name your app (e.g., "MusicStream")
5. Choose "Start from Scratch"

Note: Start with the free tier for prototyping. Upgrade to Starter at $45/month ($36/month when billed annually) when ready to publish to app stores.

Step 2: Set Your App's Visual Theme

1. Choose a primary color (black or dark purple works well for music apps)
2. Select an accent color for call-to-action buttons
3. Pick a modern, readable font from Adalo's font library
4. Click "Continue" to enter the app builder

Step 3: Install the Audio Player Component

1. Click the "+" icon in the left sidebar
2. Navigate to Marketplace
3. Search for "Audio Player"
4. Click Install (it's free)
5. The component will appear in your available components

The Audio Player component supports background playback, custom artwork display, and works across all platforms—web and native mobile apps.

Building Your Music App's Database Structure

Step 4: Create the Songs Collection

1. Click the Database icon in the left sidebar
2. Click "+ Add Collection"
3. Name it "Songs"
4. Add these properties:

• Title (Text)
• Audio URL (Text) - for MP3 file links
• Album Artwork (Image)
• Duration (Number) - in seconds
• Genre (Text)
• Play Count (Number)
• Release Date (Date)

Important: Adalo has a 50MB file upload limit for native components. For production apps, use external hosting like Cloudinary or AWS S3 and store URLs in the Audio URL field.

Step 5: Enhance the Users Collection

The Users collection already exists by default. Add these properties:

1. Click on Users collection
2. Add properties:

• Profile Image (Image)
• Display Name (Text)
• Favorite Genre (Text)
• Subscription Type (Text) - Values: "Free", "Premium"
• Total Listening Time (Number) - in minutes

Step 6: Create the Artists Collection

1. Click "+ Add Collection"
2. Name it "Artists"
3. Add properties:

• Artist Name (Text)
• Bio (Text - Multiline)
• Artist Image (Image)
• Monthly Listeners (Number)
• Verified (True/False)

Step 7: Create the Albums Collection

1. Click "+ Add Collection"
2. Name it "Albums"
3. Add properties:

• Album Title (Text)
• Cover Art (Image)
• Release Year (Number)
• Total Tracks (Number)

Step 8: Create the Playlists Collection

1. Click "+ Add Collection"
2. Name it "Playlists"
3. Add properties:

• Playlist Name (Text)
• Description (Text - Multiline)
• Cover Image (Image)
• Public/Private (True/False)
• Created Date (Date & Time - Automatic)
• Play Count (Number)

Step 9: Set Up Database Relationships

Establishing proper relationships is crucial for a relational database:

1. In Songs collection:

• Add relationship to Artists: "Artist" (Many Songs → One Artist)
• Add relationship to Albums: "Album" (Many Songs → One Album)

2. In Albums collection:

• Add relationship to Artists: "Artist" (Many Albums → One Artist)

3. In Playlists collection:

• Add relationship to Users: "Creator" (Many Playlists → One User)
• Add relationship to Songs: "Tracks" (Many Songs → Many Playlists)

4. In Users collection:

• Add relationship to Playlists: "My Playlists" (One User → Many Playlists)
• Add relationship to Songs: "Liked Songs" (Many Songs → Many Users)

Designing Your Mobile App Interface for Seamless User Experience

Step 10: Build the Welcome/Login Screen

1. Rename the default screen to "Welcome"
2. Add your app logo (Image component)
3. Add headline text: "Millions of songs. Play anywhere."
4. Add two Buttons:
   
   • "Sign Up" → Link to "Sign Up" screen
   • "Log In" → Link to "Login" screen

Step 11: Create Sign Up Screen

1. Add new screen "Sign Up"
2. Add Form component:
   
   • Connect to Users collection
   • Include fields: Email, Password, Display Name
3. Add Image Picker for profile photo (optional)
4. Set form action:
   
   • Sign Up User
   • Navigate to "Home" screen

Step 12: Design the Home Screen with Featured Content

1. Add new screen "Home"

2. Add Custom List for "Recently Played":

• Filter: Songs where Logged In User → Liked Songs
• Display: Album Artwork (thumbnail), Title, Artist Name
• Set "Load Items as User Scrolls" to optimize performance
• Maximum initial items: 10-15

3. Add another Custom List for "Popular Songs":

• Sort by: Play Count (Highest First)
• Display same layout as Recently Played

4. Add Text Input at top for search:

• Link to "Search" screen on focus

Step 13: Create the Now Playing Screen with Audio Player

This is where the magic happens:

1. Add new screen "Now Playing"

2. Drag the Audio Player component onto the screen

3. Configure the player:

• URL field: Connect to Current Song → Audio URL
• Album Artwork: Current Song → Album Artwork
• Song Title: Current Song → Title
• Artist Name: Current Song → Artist → Artist Name
• Enable "Playing on other screens" for background playback

4. Add playback controls:

• Previous track button
• Play/Pause (built into component)
• Next track button
• Shuffle toggle
• Repeat toggle

5. Add action buttons below player:

• "Add to Liked Songs" → Update Logged In User relationship
• "Add to Playlist" → Link to playlist selector modal
• "Share" → Opens share sheet

Critical Limitation: Adalo only supports one Audio Player per screen. This dedicated "Now Playing" screen approach is the recommended pattern.

Step 14: Build the Search Screen

1. Add new screen "Search"
2. Add Text Input component
3. Add three Custom Lists:

• Songs List:

• Filter: Title contains Search Input
• Show: Album Artwork, Title, Artist Name
• Click action: Link to Now Playing screen

• Artists List:

• Filter: Artist Name contains Search Input
• Show: Artist Image, Name, Monthly Listeners
• Click action: Link to Artist Profile

• Albums List:

• Filter: Album Title contains Search Input
• Show: Cover Art, Title, Artist Name, Release Year
• Click action: Link to Album Detail screen

Step 15: Create Artist Profile Screen

1. Add new screen "Artist Profile"
2. Add Image for artist photo (Current Artist → Artist Image)
3. Add Text for:
   
   • Artist Name
   • Monthly Listeners count
   • Bio
4. Add Custom List of Popular Tracks:
   
   • Filter: Songs where Artist = Current Artist
   • Sort by: Play Count
5. Add Custom List of Albums:
   
   • Filter: Albums where Artist = Current Artist
   • Sort by: Release Year (Newest First)
6. Add "Follow" button (toggle relationship)

Step 16: Build Album Detail Screen

1. Add new screen "Album Detail"
2. Display album information:
   
   • Cover Art (large)
   • Album Title
   • Artist Name (clickable → Artist Profile)
   • Release Year
   • Total Tracks count
3. Add Custom List of album tracks:
   
   • Filter: Songs where Album = Current Album
   • Sort by: Track Number
   • Show: Track Number, Title, Duration
   • Click action: Link to Now Playing (pass song data)
4. Add "Play Album" button → Plays first track
5. Add "Add to Library" button

Implementing Playlist Management

Step 17: Create "My Playlists" Screen

1. Add new screen "My Playlists"
2. Add Custom List:
   
   • Filter: Playlists where Creator = Logged In User
   • Display: Cover Image, Playlist Name, Track count
   • Click action: Link to Playlist Detail
3. Add Button: "Create New Playlist" → Link to Create Playlist screen

Step 18: Build Create Playlist Screen

1. Add new screen "Create Playlist"
2. Add Form connected to Playlists:
   
   • Playlist Name (Text Input)
   • Description (Multiline Text Input)
   • Cover Image (Image Picker)
   • Public/Private toggle
3. Set Creator = Logged In User automatically
4. Submit action: Create Playlist → Navigate to Playlist Detail

Step 19: Design Playlist Detail Screen

1. Add new screen "Playlist Detail"
2. Display playlist info:
   
   • Cover Image
   • Playlist Name
   • Creator name
   • Track count
   • Total duration (sum of all track durations)
3. Add Custom List of tracks:
   
   • Filter: Current Playlist → Tracks
   • Display: Album Artwork, Title, Artist, Duration
   • Swipe actions: Remove from playlist
4. Add "Add Songs" button → Link to Add Songs screen
5. Add "Play Playlist" button → Plays first track

Step 20: Create Add Songs to Playlist Screen

1. Add new screen "Add Songs"
2. Add search functionality:
   
   • Text Input for search
   • Custom List of Songs filtered by search term
3. Each song item shows:
   
   • Album Artwork
   • Title
   • Artist
   • "+" button to add to Current Playlist

Adding Advanced Functionality with Integrations

Step 21: Implement Subscription Tiers with Stripe

For monetization, integrate Stripe payments:

1. In Marketplace, install "Stripe Payment" component
2. Create "Subscription" screen:
   
   • Display tier options (Free, Premium $9.99/month)
   • Premium benefits: Ad-free, offline playback, unlimited skips
3. Add Stripe component:
   
   • Amount: 999 (cents)
   • Recurring: Monthly
   • On success: Update Logged In User → Subscription Type = "Premium"

Cost Note: Apple requires a $99/year developer account, Google Play charges a $25 one-time fee.

Step 22: Add Push Notifications for New Releases

1. Set up notification permissions on first launch
2. Create automated notifications:
   
   • When followed artist releases new song → Send push: "New music from [Artist Name]"
   • When playlist is updated → Send push to followers
3. Configure notifications in Actions panel

Step 23: Integrate Analytics with Mixpanel (Optional)

For tracking user behavior on Professional plan:

1. Set up Custom Actions to send events
2. Track key metrics:
   
   • Songs played
   • Playlist creations
   • Search queries
   • Time spent listening
3. Requires Professional plan at $65/month ($52/month when billed annually)

Building Additional Features

Step 24: Create User Profile Screen

1. Add new screen "Profile"
2. Display user information:
   
   • Profile Image
   • Display Name
   • Total Listening Time
   • Top Genre
3. Add sections:
   
   • Recently Played (last 20 songs)
   • Top Artists (most played)
   • Subscription status and upgrade button
4. Add "Edit Profile" button → Edit form
5. Add "Logout" button

Step 25: Build Listening History

1. Create "Recently Played" collection:
   
   • Relationship to User
   • Relationship to Song
   • Played At (Date & Time - Automatic)
2. Update this collection every time a song plays >30 seconds
3. Display in Custom List on Profile screen

Step 26: Add Offline Playback (Premium Feature)

Note: True offline playback requires native functionality. Workarounds:

1. Use Progressive Web App features
2. Store song files in device cache (limited support)
3. Consider this a "coming soon" feature
4. Alternatively, use external hosting that supports offline caching

Step 27: Implement Social Sharing

1. Add share buttons on songs, albums, and playlists
2. Use built-in Share component
3. Generate shareable links to content
4. Option to share "Now Playing" to social media

Testing Your Music Streaming App

Step 28: Add Test Data

To properly test your app:

1. Upload 15-20 sample songs (use royalty-free music)
2. Create 3-4 test artists
3. Build 2-3 test albums
4. Make 5-6 test playlists with various songs
5. Create multiple user accounts to test different scenarios

Audio Format Requirement: Only MP3 files are supported. Convert other formats before uploading.

Step 29: Test Core Functionality

Critical flows to verify:

1. User Flow:

• Sign up → Browse music → Play song → Create playlist → Add songs → Play playlist

2. Audio Playback:

• Play/Pause functionality
• Skip forward/backward
• Background playback (lock screen)
• Playback across screen navigation

3. Search:

• Real-time filtering
• Results for songs, artists, albums
• Click actions work correctly

4. Playlist Management:

• Create new playlist
• Add/remove songs
• Edit playlist details
• Delete playlists

Step 30: Preview and Debug

1. Use Adalo's web previewer for desktop testing
2. Download the Adalo mobile app for iOS/Android testing
3. Scan QR code to preview your app on device
4. Test all conditional logic
5. Verify list performance with "Load Items as User Scrolls" enabled

Performance Tip: Limit initial list items to 10-15 and enable lazy loading to prevent slow load times, especially important for apps with large music libraries.

Publishing Your Apple Music Clone

Step 31: Prepare App Store Assets

Before publishing, you'll need:

1. App Icon (1024x1024px)
2. Screenshots for each device size
3. App Description (highlighting features)
4. Privacy Policy (required for both stores)
5. Terms of Service
6. Content Rating information

Step 32: Configure Publishing Settings

In Adalo's Publishing section:

1. Set app name and bundle identifier
2. Upload icon and splash screen
3. Configure iOS publishing settings:
   
   • Apple Developer Account credentials
   • Certificates and provisioning profiles
4. Configure Android publishing:
   
   • Google Play Console credentials
   • Keystore file

Step 33: Publish to App Stores

Adalo makes publishing simple:

1. Click "Publish to App Stores"
2. Select iOS and/or Android
3. Adalo builds native apps automatically
4. Submit to stores (review time: 1-3 days for Apple, 24-48 hours for Google)

Alternative: Publish as web app with custom domain for instant deployment.

Step 34: Set Up Custom Domain (Web App)

If publishing as a web app:

1. Purchase domain ($10-45/year)
2. In Adalo, go to Publishing → Web App
3. Enter your custom domain
4. Update DNS records as instructed
5. Enable SSL (automatic with Adalo)

Why Adalo is Perfect for Building Music Streaming Apps

When it comes to building a music app without code, Adalo stands out as the ideal platform. Here's why:

True Native Mobile Apps

Unlike web-wrapper solutions, Adalo builds genuine native apps for iOS and Android. This means your music app will have the performance and user experience users expect from professional streaming services. With 1 million apps created on the platform, Adalo has proven its ability to handle complex applications.

Built-in Audio Capabilities

The platform's dedicated Audio Player component supports background playback, custom controls, and cross-platform functionality—features that would typically require weeks of custom development. Apps on Adalo process 20 million requests daily, demonstrating the platform's reliability for data-intensive applications like music streaming.

All-in-One Solution

Adalo provides everything you need in one platform: database, user authentication, UI components, integrations, and publishing—all included in plans starting at just $36/month with annual billing. No need to piece together multiple services or manage complex infrastructure.

Rapid Development and Iteration

The visual builder allows you to see changes in real-time, test quickly, and iterate based on user feedback. What would take 6+ months with traditional development can be accomplished in weeks with Adalo, letting you validate your music app concept and start building an audience faster.

Ready to start building? Sign up for Adalo and turn your music app vision into reality.

Optimizing and Scaling Your Music App

Step 35: Monitor Performance

Track these key metrics:

1. App load time (should be under 3 seconds)
2. List rendering speed (use lazy loading)
3. Audio playback latency
4. Monthly action usage (to avoid overages)

If you're approaching 99%+ uptime like Adalo's platform average, you're on the right track.

Step 36: Implement External Database for Scale

For apps with 10,000+ songs or heavy traffic:

1. Upgrade to Team plan ($160/month annually)
2. Integrate Xano as external database
3. Move song metadata to Xano
4. Keep user data in Adalo for fast access
5. Use API connections for queries

Step 37: Optimize Audio Hosting

As your library grows:

1. Use CDN for audio distribution
2. Consider AWS S3 + CloudFront setup
3. Implement audio compression (192-256kbps MP3)
4. Cache frequently played songs
5. Monitor bandwidth costs

Resources for Continued Learning

• Spotify clone tutorial
• Database design best practices
• Audio Player component documentation
• App store publishing guide
• Adalo Component Marketplace
• Podcast app builders (shares similar architecture)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I truly build a complex app like Apple Music without writing any code?

Yes, absolutely. Adalo's visual builder handles all the technical complexity behind the scenes. The platform processes 20 million requests daily and supports complex relational databases, audio playback, and native app publishing—all without requiring coding knowledge. However, there are limitations: true offline playback, advanced algorithms, and real-time collaborative features may require custom solutions or external integrations.

How does Adalo handle the large amounts of data required for a music streaming service?

Adalo's built-in database supports complex relationships and can handle thousands of songs efficiently using proper optimization. For libraries exceeding 10,000 songs or apps with heavy concurrent usage, Adalo offers External Collections that connect to services like Xano or Airtable for expanded capacity. The key is implementing performance best practices like lazy loading and limiting initial list items to 10-15 records.

Can I integrate existing music libraries or audio providers into my Adalo app?

Yes, but with limitations. Adalo supports JSON API integrations, so you can connect to external audio sources via Custom Actions (requires Professional plan at $65/month or $52/month annually). However, OAuth-based services like Spotify API face authentication challenges in Adalo. The most reliable approach is uploading your own MP3 files to external hosting (Cloudinary, AWS S3) and storing URLs in Adalo's database. RSS feed integrations require middleware like Zapier to convert XML to JSON.

Is it possible to monetize a music streaming app built on Adalo?

Absolutely. Adalo supports Stripe integration for subscription-based revenue models. You can implement tiered pricing (Free, Premium at $9.99/month) with different feature access. Apps built on Adalo have registered 2 million accounts, demonstrating the platform's scalability for monetized applications. Additional revenue options include in-app purchases through IAPHUB integration, advertising, or premium content sales.

What kind of support is available if I get stuck while building my app?

Adalo offers multiple support channels depending on your plan tier. Free and Starter users access the Community Forum where thousands of makers share solutions. Professional plan users receive email support with 48-hour response times, while Team and Business plans get priority support within 24 hours. Additionally, you can hire Adalo Experts for one-on-one development assistance and access comprehensive documentation through Adalo's help center.