Key Challenges
Before Salt Square stepped in, Beatport faced several critical challenges that limited growth and product evolution:
- Outdated technologies and inconsistent code quality
- High maintenance costs and inefficient development workflows
- Difficulty scaling and delivering new features
- Frequent crashes and stability issues
- Low user engagement and decreasing App Store ratings
These problems not only impacted day-to-day engineering productivity but also hurt user loyalty and platform performance in a highly competitive digital music market.
“For a global music industry leader like Beatport, finding top engineering talent is critical. Salt Square has been the best vendor we’ve ever partnered with — by far. Beatport CTO – Sean Sullivan”
Our Approach
Salt Square became Beatport’s dedicated mobile engineering partner, fully replacing the previous vendor and assuming
complete ownership of the mobile ecosystem. Our team quickly embedded into Beatport’s product organization, aligning engineering, design, and business direction.
We modernized both native apps using SwiftUI and Kotlin, restructured the architecture for clarity and maintainability, and removed long-standing crash sources that had hindered user experience. Build processes and CI/CD pipelines were optimized for speed, stability, and repeatability, reducing release friction and enabling faster iteration. We worked closely with Beatport’s product stakeholders to drive alignment, accelerate roadmap execution, and ensure engineering decisions supported long-term growth.
Client ROI
By stabilizing the apps and transforming the engineering practices behind them, Salt Square delivered measurable improvements that directly impacted product performance:
- Significant increase in mobile user engagement and daily active usage
- Faster time-to-market for new features and updates
- Crash-free, scalable mobile apps built on modern frameworks
- A high-performing engineering team aligned with product vision
Beatport gained not just improved apps, but a reliable mobile foundation that supports continuous innovation.
Business Impact
For a platform serving millions of DJs, artists, and music fans worldwide, mobile performance is mission critical. Salt Square’s modernization and long-term engineering strategy delivered immediate improvements in stability, quality, and speed. The upgrades restored user confidence, enabled product teams to innovate faster, and positioned Beatport’s mobile apps to scale with future roadmap demands.