App Showcase: nugs
App info
- App name: nugs: Live Music Lives Here
- Onboarding steps: 4
- Paywall type: No Free Trial - Soft Paywall
- Monthly installs: 3,000
- Monthly revenue: $650,000
- App category: music
What it does
nugs is a specialized media streaming platform built entirely for live music fans. It offers an extensive, officially licensed catalog of live concert audio, video-on-demand, and exclusive livestreams from major touring acts and jam bands, allowing users to listen to high-quality soundboard recordings of specific shows.
Where it shines
The app excels at organizing a massive, highly specific type of content: thousands of individual live shows. At 04:38, the ability to dive into a specific venue and see the exact date and setlist of a concert proves it understands its niche audience deeply. Furthermore, the seamless integration of livestreams with the native OS calendar at 03:21 turns the app from a passive library into an active event companion.
UX highlights
- The dark mode interface with neon purple and green accents perfectly matches the aesthetic of live concert lighting and nightlife.
- Contextual soft paywalls (01:27) intercept users when they tap locked content, explaining the subscription benefits rather than throwing an error.
- The persistent mini-player (03:48) allows users to continue browsing deep archives without interrupting their current audio stream.
- Advanced filtering options (04:54) let users sort vast video catalogs by location, catering to how live music fans actually search for content.
- The "Follow Your Favorites" grid during onboarding (01:04) uses satisfying, bouncy animations to make setup feel engaging.
Monetization & growth
The app utilizes an aggressive upfront monetization strategy. Users must create an account immediately upon opening the app, and are then presented with a hard paywall featuring dual subscription tiers (00:49) before they can explore the catalog. Throughout the app, soft paywalls persistently gate premium audio and video, clearly delineating free previews from paid access.
Who it's for
This app is tailor-made for dedicated live music fans, "tapers," and followers of jam bands who want to relive specific concerts they attended or explore vast archives of unreleased live performances in lossless audio quality.
Notes & opportunities
The initial onboarding experience is heavily gated and full of friction. Presenting a system tracking prompt, a mandatory signup form, and a paywall before the user can even see what the app looks like (00:00 - 01:00) likely causes significant drop-off for casual users who are just curious about the catalog.