The Art of Specificity: Designing an Experience for Every Atif Aslam Fan
No two fans connect with an artist in exactly the same way. Some have been listening since the very beginning, while others may be discovering them through a shared playlist today. Some return to the same songs for comfort, while others are always eager to hear what’s next.
It’s that diversity that inspired Spotify’s new in-app experience celebrating Atif Aslam’s latest release, Subah Aye Na—his first studio album in nearly two decades. One of Pakistan’s most celebrated artists, Atif has built a catalog of pop hits, film soundtracks, and devotional performances. His audience spans generations and geographies, with nearly 8 billion all-time streams and more than 30 million monthly listeners. Remarkably, 96% of those streams come from outside Pakistan.
Available now in the Spotify app, Discover Your Inner Aadeez is a mobile experience named after the artist’s fan community. It groups listeners into one of four personas based on how they engage with Atif’s music: Borderless Aadeez, Moonrise Aadeez, OG Aadeez, or Early Discoverer Aadeez. Designed to be both personal and shareable, it gives fans a new way to see themselves in the music they love.
To learn more about how the experience came together, For the Record spoke with Talha Hashim, Spotify’s Marketing Manager for Pakistan.
What was the starting point when designing an in-app experience for an artist like Atif Aslam? How did the idea of fan personas emerge?
The first thing we realized was that this artist means completely different things to completely different people, and that’s the opportunity. A 19-year-old in Lahore who discovered him through social media, a 35-year-old in Dubai who fell in love with his voice, a family in London playing Atif’s music on a Thursday evening. They’re all Atif fans, but each has a very different relationship with his music.
Our ambition was to create something that reflected those different relationships and felt personal to each fan. The question wasn’t simply, “How do we celebrate Atif?” It was, “Which version of Atif are we celebrating, and for whom?” That’s where personas came in.
We needed a way to represent the full spectrum of how people connect with him across ages, geographies, and different moments in their lives. If you design one flat experience, you end up speaking deeply to no one. Personas gave us permission to design for specificity. They allowed us to say: “We see you. We know how you connect with this artist. And this moment is for you.”
How did you go about creating the Aadee personas? What made them feel authentic?
We started with the music itself. When you look at his body of work alongside how fans engage with it, natural patterns begin to emerge.
Some fans have been with him since day one. Every song is tied to a memory, and every chorus still hits the same. That’s your OG Aadeez. Others are always first to press play, hunting down every new release or hidden gem before anyone else. That’s the Early Discoverer. Then there are listeners who come back to his music when the day slows down: the Moonrise Aadeez. And finally, there’s the Borderless Aadeez. They collect sounds from everywhere, and Atif is part of a much broader musical world for them.
Each of those personas came from observing real listening patterns and fan culture. The test we kept coming back to was whether fans would actually recognize themselves in their persona. If someone looks at their result and immediately thinks, “That’s me,” then we’ve done our job. The names, artwork, and share cards were all designed with that in mind.
What’s one behind-the-scenes detail that fans might be surprised to learn?
I think people would be surprised by how much thought went into making the experience feel personal. The journey starts simply: You land on the experience, you’re greeted as an Atif fan, and then you pick your favorite track from the album. That choice isn’t just a fun interaction—it helps determine which Aadeez persona you receive and is one of the signals the experience uses to reflect your listening habits.
We also spent a lot of time making sure each persona had its own visual identity and share card. Rather than using one design template with different colors, we wanted every share card to feel distinct—something fans would genuinely want to post because it reflects the way they connect with the artist. We wanted sharing to become a conversation starter. You see someone post their card and immediately want to know, “Which Aadeez am I?”
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How to discover your inner Aadeez
The Discover Your Inner Aadeez experience is available for Free and Premium users globally in English. Finding your persona takes just a few taps:
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- Open the latest version of the Spotify app on iOS or Android.
- Tap the Discover Your Inner Aadeez banner on Home, or visit https://open.spotify.com/presents/atifaslamfan.
- Pick your favorite track from Subah Aye Na.
- Watch your persona reveal and save your share card.
Ready to dive into Atif’s latest chapter? Stream Subah Aye Na now.
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