Spotify Greenroom is now available for iOS and Android devices for free, as a way for creators and artists to interact and have and deep connections between participants in live rooms. The app differs from Spotify Podcasts, since it allows users to host live conversations on topics ranging from music and culture to sports and entertainment. “We believe Spotify has an opportunity not only to enable live broadcasts, but to aid discovery, drive consumption, and accelerate growth of the live category overall,” Spotify wrote in its announcement of the feature. “Today’s app unveiling is our opportunity to begin laying the foundation for the exciting roster of content and capabilities Spotify has in store in our venture into live audio.” The Betty Labs-built app allows anyone to host or participate in live rooms and has recording capabilities so users can save any live conversations as podcasts. Greenroom looks like a similar concept to the popular audio app, Clubhouse, which has an extensive waitlist of people wanting to gain access to the audio-based social network. The combination of hands-off, background listening, optional participation, and the fact that listening “steals” time away from other social networks has helped Clubhouse accumulate 10 million users since it launched last April. Other platforms have been trying to copy Clubhouse’s massive success, including Twitter, which introduced Spaces as a new audio-only feature. Even Facebook and LinkedIn have introduced audio-only features, or proposed plans to do so, on their platforms to reel in users who are still waiting to get on Clubhouse. Experts previously have said audio is becoming more popular, since you can consume it passively while doing other tasks. In addition, audio can be a more intimate way to engage with your followers, rather than reading each other’s words on a screen.
