NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Greenroom, Spotify’s live audio app, was released on Wednesday as the Swedish online music streaming giant’s response to the popular Clubhouse platform.
Greenroom users can participate in live discussions or host their own.
After acquiring Betty Labs, the company behind the famous sports-focused audio platform Locker Room, Spotify developed Greenroom.
Along with podcasts, social audio has exploded in popularity in the last year, with Clubhouse in San Francisco leading the charge.
According to AppMagic, Clubhouse has been downloaded over 18 million times since December.
Twitter launched Spaces in December, and Facebook has Live Audio Rooms, so other tech behemoths have joined the live audio bandwagon.
However, there are still concerns about the platforms’ ability to commercialise their content.
They’ll also have to compete with Discord, which has over 140 million members and has offered live audio since 2015, albeit it’s mostly targeted at video game players.
Because of its focus on music and, more lately, podcasts, Spotify has the advantage of already being an audio platform.
