Image by Hayoung Jeon/EPA
Spotify launched their new live audio sharing app Greenroom on Wednesday. This comes after the Swedish streaming giant’s acquisition of Betty Labs, a company best known for popular audio platform Locker Room, which focuses on sports related content.
Greenroom is Spotify’s answer to apps such as Clubhouse, with the new feature allowing users to host, listen to and join in on live discussions on music and culture. Spotify users will be able to join virtual rooms based on various discussion topics. These rooms can be started by any user, who then becomes a host and other users who join the room will be able to partake in the discussion as speakers or simply just listen. Unlike Clubhouse, which requires an invite from an existing user to become accessible, Greenroom is open to all Spotify users across the platform’s various plans and is completely free to use. Users only need to download the app and set up a profile. Users will also be able to access the app using their existing Spotify details.
Revealing details in a post on their blog For The Record, Spotify says: “The Greenroom offering will continue to evolve as we learn more about what creators and listeners want from their live audio experience. We’ll also bring exciting new programming to the platform spanning music, culture, and entertainment topics in addition to the sports content Locker Room has been known for.” Spotify hopes that Greenroom will be an opportunity to connect artists with their fans. In a press-release to artists, Spotify detailed: “Greenroom provides the opportunity to cultivate a highly-engaged audience of fans who are passionate about artists, the music they make, and the perspectives they have.”
As a further incentive to drive artists to create content on the new app, Spotify has also launched the Greenroom Creator Fund. This initiative pays out artists for creating content on Greenroom and building an audience on the app. Payment is determined by the number of listeners and consumption of the creator’s content. You can find out more about the fund and eligibility here.
Greenroom is available for iOS and Android in most territories where Spotify is available. The app is currently only available in English.
