Spotify Acquires Audio Chat App For Live Music, Cultural, and Sports Conversations
Audio-chat apps and features have been a hot topic in the last few months, one focus being the rivalry between Twitter’s Spaces and the “breakthrough” app of 2021, Clubhouse. Spotify is now entering the social audio app space with its plan to host live audio conversations.
Spotify has already invested heavily in prerecorded podcast content, but announced recently that its newest project is its acquisition of Betty Labs – the company behind the live sports audio app Locker Room, which was first introduced to sports fans in October 2020.
As a result of this acquisition, Locker Room will remain live in the App Store, just rebranded with a new name and wider focus, branching out to music and culture.
“We’ll give professional athletes, writers, musicians, songwriters, podcasters, and other global voices opportunities to host real-time discussions, debates, ask me anything (AMA) sessions, and more,” says Spotify.
Who will this audio-chat app app appeal to? Spotify believes live audio opens doors for creators striving to connect with audiences in real time. Through this medium, they can premiere albums, host well-loved Q and As, or perhaps even perform to fans.
Unlike Clubhouse, which retains its elite, invite-only access status, Spotify will let anyone and everyone host conversations. This decision puts Spotify in good stead to challenge the host of emerging audio-chat apps, such as Twitter Spaces, Clubhouse, and Discord. It has become apparent that the inclusivity of Twitter Spaces, perhaps giving it the edge over Clubhouse at the minute, has been a key selling point.
Gustav Söderström, Chief Research & Development Officer at Spotify, said, “Creators and fans have been asking for live formats on Spotify, and we’re excited that soon, we’ll make them available to hundreds of millions of listeners and millions of creators on our platform. The world already turns to us for music, podcasts, and other unique audio experiences, and this new live audio experience is a powerful complement that will enhance and extend the on-demand experience we provide today.”
Spotify and the audio-chat app will remain separate apps, however Söderström followed on by saying, “Who knows, maybe we’ll integrate some of these features, or all of these features in the future.”
There is, however, already an easy passage between the two applications. Live audio from the audio-chat app can be automatically uploaded to Anchor, Spotify’s podcast creation and hosting software.
Whilst users already upload Spaces and Clubhouse recordings to this platform, Spotify’s new app will streamline the process, allowing for direct transferal with the tap of a button.
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