Spotify Launches Greenroom, a Clubhouse Competitor

Greenroom users will be able to join live discussions or to host their own.

By Gadgets 360 Staff With Inputs From AFP | Updated: 17 June 2021 09:50 IST

Spotify Launches Greenroom, a Clubhouse Competitor

Photo Credit: Spotify

Spotify Greenroom is available on iOS and Android in over 135 markets around the world

Highlights

Spotify launched Greenroom after acquiring Betty Labs
Last month, Spotify announced three new features
Clubhouse has been downloaded over 18 million times

Spotify on Wednesday launched a live audio app called Greenroom, the Swedish online music streaming giant's answer to the popular platform Clubhouse. Greenroom allows users to join live discussions or to host their own.

Spotify launched Greenroom after acquiring Betty Labs, the company behind the popular sports-focused audio platform Locker Room.

Along with podcasts, social audio has taken off over the past year with the San Francisco-based Clubhouse leading the way.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Since December, Clubhouse has been downloaded over 18 million times, according to the site AppMagic.

Other tech giants have also jumped into the live audio sector with Twitter launching Spaces in December and Facebook hosting Live Audio Rooms.

Questions remain, however, over the ability of the various platforms to monetise their content.

Spotify to Get 3 New Features, Will Allow Wear OS Users to Download Content

They will also have to compete with Discord, which has been offering live audio since 2015 and has more than 140 million users although it has been more focused on video game players.

Spotify has the advantage of already being an audio platform through its focus on music and, more recently, podcasts.

Last month, Spotify announced three new features — buttons with increased readability features, options for text resizing, and a beta for podcast transcripts.

The new features will be a part of an update that will begin rolling out in the coming weeks for Android and iOS users. The transcripts feature will currently be available for Spotify Original podcasts but it is being planned to include all podcasts in the future. Spotify also announced during the Google I/O keynote that it will soon let users download playlists and podcasts on Wear OS devices.

We dive into all things WWDC — iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, watchOS 8 and more — this week on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.