Smule
For music enthusiasts and casual singers ranging from hobbyists to aspiring artists seeking social connection and vocal performance tools.
Smule: Sing, Duet & Karaoke
Snapshot
Who is Smule?
Democratizing music creation by transforming mobile devices into social instruments and recording studios for a global community of creators.
Target audience
Portfolio
Free 7Last updated
Smule: Sing, Duet & Karaoke
v13.1.1
2mo ago
Publisher DNA
What defines Smule?
Publisher DNA
Primary focus
Social music creation and karaoke platforms
Scale
indie
Target audience
Music enthusiasts and casual singers ranging from hobbyists to aspiring artists seeking social connection and vocal performance tools.
Origin
Founded in 2008 with a mission to bring music back to its social roots through mobile technology.
Signature Patterns
- •Heavy reliance on VIP subscription models across all active titles
- •Integration of proprietary audio-processing tools like pitch-correction and beat-matching
- •Emphasis on social collaboration features, specifically 'Duet' and 'Jam' modes
- •Community-driven content creation where users generate the primary value through 'Styles' and performances
Portfolio momentum
Maintains a high update cadence with 14 releases in the last 6 months, though development is concentrated on the 60% of the portfolio that remains active.
Company profile
medium confidence- Founded
- 2008
Portfolio
What does Smule ship?
Apps
7 apps analysed
Want to rap? AutoRap transforms your speech into rap (and corrects bad rapping)
- The core speech-to-rap conversion mechanism provides a unique creative experience that users find genuinely entertaining
- Long-term users report that their historical recordings are stuck in a permanent processing state, causing loss of memories
High-fidelity audio engine supports premium-feel gameplay
- Extensive song library allows users to practice keyboard skills effectively
- High currency costs for individual songs create a significant barrier to progression
Unique collaborative Smule Jams feature
- Nostalgic Value
- Composer Feature Failure
Unique, intuitive hardware-based interaction model
- Nostalgic Value and Immersion
- Microphone and Hardware Issues
Studio-quality audio engine provides a professional-grade differentiator
- Global karaoke community fosters meaningful social connections and collaborative music creation across borders
- Aggressive paywall implementation restricts core functionality like solo singing and song access for non-subscribers
Distributed across 19 markets, strongest in Europe.
Based on 4 of 7 apps with localized market data, more coverage rolling in as scans complete · last scanned .
Americas (4)
- United States4 / 4
- Brazil3 / 4
- Mexico3 / 4
- Canada1 / 4
Europe (8)
- France3 / 4
- Germany3 / 4
- Portugal3 / 4
- Spain3 / 4
- Italy1 / 4
›+3 more europe markets
- Sweden1 / 4
- Turkey1 / 4
- United Kingdom1 / 4
Asia-Pacific (7)
- Japan3 / 4
- South Korea3 / 4
- Australia1 / 4
- India1 / 4
- Indonesia1 / 4
›+2 more asia-pacific markets
- Singapore1 / 4
- Vietnam1 / 4
Core markets (4/4 apps)
User Sentiment
How do users feel about their apps?
0
Positive apps
3
Neutral / mixed
3
Negative apps
40/100
Avg sentiment score
Unlock the app dragging this portfolio down.
Access the full report for freeRivals
Who does Smule compete with?
The rivals identified
Nemeses(5)
Mureka targets the same aspiring creator demographic as AutoRap but shifts the focus from manual performance to AI-driven style-matching and vocal tone selection.
Both apps target aspiring music creators with mobile-first production tools, forcing a choice between AutoRap's automated speech-to-rap conversion and BandLab's full-featured DAW environment.
A direct competitor in the rhythm-piano genre that maintains high user engagement through frequent content updates.
With over 1 million ratings and a direct focus on piano learning and rhythm gameplay, this app is the primary market leader in the exact same niche as the target.
Offers similar karaoke recording features with built-in vocal effects and video filters for social sharing.
Contenders(11)
Both apps target casual music creators on mobile, competing for time spent in creative production. While AutoRap focuses on vocal-to-rap conversion, Beat Snap 2 provides a drum pad interface for beat composition.
Both apps target aspiring rappers with mobile-first music creation tools, competing directly for users seeking accessible beat-matching and vocal recording functionality.
Both apps target mobile music creators with beat libraries and vocal processing, directly competing for the same user base seeking accessible rap and vocal production tools.
Directly targets the educational segment of the piano niche, serving as a functional alternative for users seeking skill acquisition.
Offers advanced multi-track recording and production effects that appeal to users wanting more control over their vocal output.
Both apps target aspiring music creators with mobile-first, low-barrier production tools, competing for the same casual user base seeking accessible beat-making and performance experiences.
Both apps target aspiring music creators with mobile-first, low-barrier production tools, competing for the same casual user base seeking accessible beat-making and performance experiences.
Both apps target aspiring hip-hop creators with mobile-first production tools, competing for the same time-share in the music creation category.
Both apps target casual music creators with mobile-first production tools, competing for the same time-share of users seeking accessible beat-making and vocal recording.
Both apps target aspiring hip-hop artists with mobile-first recording tools, competing directly for the same user base seeking accessible music creation and social distribution.
Both apps target aspiring music creators with mobile-first production tools, competing for the same user base seeking accessible vocal processing and beat-matching capabilities.
Same space(41)
Provides a creative outlet for music lovers, though it focuses on creation rather than rhythm-based consumption.
Captures the same beginner musician demographic as Smule, focusing on utility-driven practice tools.
Competes for the user's time by offering a more educational approach to playing piano, often converting casual players to students.
Suno serves as a generative audio workstation that replaces manual rap recording with text-to-song AI, attracting the same casual creative audience as AutoRap.
Provides a viral-style audio manipulation tool that Smule users might use for social content creation.
Provides a professional-grade mixing console that Smule users might use to remix their own vocal recordings.
Serves as a practice tool for DJs who might use Smule's vocal tracks in their sets.
Competes for the same listener base as Smule, offering a consolidated audio library for Prime members.
RapFlow targets the same rap-focused user base as AutoRap but emphasizes manual recording and custom effects chains over automated conversion.
Go Rap competes for the same rap-focused audience as AutoRap by providing a mobile studio for recording and applying vocal effects.
The industry standard for applying complex video effects and transitions to mobile-recorded performances.
Provides an interactive practice utility that synchronizes chords with songs, serving as a reference for Smule performers.
AI Music: Cover & Song Maker targets the same rap and vocal-focused users as AutoRap by offering AI-driven vocal replacement and song generation.
Voice Tune targets the same karaoke and recording audience as AutoRap by focusing on vocal filtering and backing track integration.
Competes for the same casual user base interested in playing virtual instruments on a mobile device.
Soniva Music serves the same non-musician audience as AutoRap by focusing on the emotional expression of poetry through AI-generated audio.
Acts as a reference library for musicians who might use Smule for vocal practice.
MyTunes serves the same casual music creator audience as AutoRap by automating song arrangement through AI-driven genre-specific generators.
Provides a massive library of AR filters and audio effects used by creators to enhance musical performances.
AI Rap Generator competes for the same aspiring rapper demographic as AutoRap by using AI to stimulate lyrical creativity.
Lyric Studio complements the rap-focused audience of AutoRap by providing a dedicated songwriting suite for drafting and organizing lyrics.
known for
Donna AI Song & Music Maker
Donna AI competes for the same hobbyist demographic as AutoRap by providing high-fidelity text-to-song generation and voice-cover tools.
Offers AI-driven stem separation that allows Smule users to isolate tracks for practice.
Offers a massive library of sheet music that serves as a reference for Smule vocalists.
Voice Tuner serves the same vocal-focused audience as AutoRap by providing professional-grade pitch correction and vocal transformation tools.
AI Rap Song Maker targets the same rap-focused audience as AutoRap by providing a mobile studio with pitch correction and beat-making tools.
Mozart AI captures the same casual creator market as AutoRap but differentiates through a multi-modal creation loop that converts photos into music.
Beatron targets the same aspiring artist audience as AutoRap by offering AI-assisted production tools that include hum-to-music capabilities.
Provides radio-based discovery that competes for the same passive listening time as Smule.
Zurna targets the same casual user base as AutoRap by providing a generative AI tool for creating personalized songs and greetings.
Targets the high-fidelity segment of the music market that Smule's vocalists might use for reference listening.
Song AI Maker serves the same casual creative audience as AutoRap by automating the production of full songs from lyrics and melodies.
Acts as a discovery hub for independent music that Smule users might choose for karaoke.
Competes for the same daily audio engagement window as Smule's social karaoke network.
MusicLab expands on the creative tools found in AutoRap by adding integrated multimedia features that turn generated audio into music videos.
Adjacent music app that competes for the user's 'relaxing music' time, though it lacks interactive gameplay.
Operates in the broader music-creation category, appealing to users interested in rhythm and beat-making.
Dominates the short-form video space where users apply visual effects and filters to their singing and performance content.
Rap Clone serves the same rap-focused audience as AutoRap by producing finished tracks using voice cloning technology.
Provides the reference material for the songs Smule users perform, acting as a static content alternative.
Udio competes for the same mobile-first creator audience by offering a text-to-music generator that produces full songs with vocals and structure.
New entrants(2)
High-velocity updates and strong user ratings indicate a growing presence in the music utility space.
Offers a direct vocal-coaching alternative to Smule's singing platform using conversational AI.
The Analyst's Read
The bottom line on Smule
Bottom line
Smule is a dominant player in the social music space with a mature subscription model and a significant moat built on user-generated content. Their long-term success depends on modernizing legacy titles to match the high user sentiment of their flagship karaoke app.
Frequently asked questions
How many apps does Smule publish?
What kind of apps does Smule make?
What is Smule's top app?
In how many countries are Smule's apps available?
What fed this analysis
- Apps analyzed:
- 5
- With full intel:
- 5
- With overview:
- 5
- Website scraped:
- yes
- Social presence:
- yes
