With Clubhouse appearing from nowhere to dominate emerging social media trends, everyone else is racing to catch up. Including Spotify, which has launched its own Clubhouse clone of sorts called Spotify Greenroom.
The number of Clubhouse clones now launching is ridiculous. From Facebook Live Audio Rooms and Twitter Live Spaces to Instagram Audio Rooms and Telegram Voice Chat 2.0, everyone wants to beat Clubhouse at its own game.
So, can Spotify Greenroom prove itself to be more than just another on of the many Clubhouse clones?
What Is Spotify Greenroom?
Greenroom is a social media platform from Spotify that utilizes live audio to connect people.
You can use Spotify Greenroom to chat about the things that interest you in virtual rooms. And artists can use Greenroom to connect with fans in a whole new way.
Anyone familiar with Clubhouse will instantly recognize the idea. However, while Spotify Greenroom offers users a similar experience to Clubhouse, you don’t need an invite. Removing that air of exclusivity. There are other differences too.
From Locker Room to Greenroom
Spotify Greenroom’s origins can be traced back to March 2021. This is when Spotify acquired the sports-focused audio app Locker Room from Better Labs in order to aid its entry into the live audio market. Locker Room was an important foundation for Spotify and has been an important project for Spotify ever since.
This move was complemented by the launch of a mini-player for Facebook as well as the establishment of a new subscription podcast platform that now allows creators to charge for their content.
Greenroom is now available across 135 unique consumer markets around the world. It was also recently on both iOS and Android devices. Greenroom’s features are on par with many of its counterparts, including Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and Facebook Live Audio Rooms.
How Spotify Greenroom Works
The Spotify Greenroom app is largely based on Locker Room’s existing code. If you previously used Locker Room you should update your app on the store to view the rebranding and redesign. The current user interface largely resembles Spotify’s streaming user interface.
You will have to sign into your Spotify account to be onboarded onto the app. You can then pick specific interests.
In order to find and partake in audio chats, you will need to join groups inside the app. The app is a space for live conversations that happen in “rooms” of the virtual variety. Anyone can create a room on the platform and invite users through the calendar and scheduling function. After selecting a topic, your room can go “live”.
Greenroom also uses some of Spotify’s personalization strategies, making targeted recommendations to users.
Speakers in the room appear at the top of the screen, represented by rounded profile icons. Listeners appear below as smaller icons. Greenroom also has mute options as well as moderation controls.
Listeners may also be brought “onstage” and invited to live audio sessions. Each room on Greenroom can host up to 1,000 individuals. Spotify is also hoping to expand the capacity limit further.
Listeners can take part by listening in on conversations, requesting to speak, or typing their reactions during a live session.
These listeners may also applaud speakers on an audio program or podcast by giving them “gems” via the app. The number of gems earned by a speaker will be displayed on their profile.
Clubhouse vs. Greenroom: What’s the Difference?
While Greenroom does seem to mirror some of the features of existing apps in the market, including Clubhouse, there are many functions that differentiate it from the others.
Greenroom offers users a live chat feature. The host has the discretion to activate this feature. Hosts may also ask for an audio file of the live session and have the ability to edit the file and turn it into a podcast.
Unlike Clubhouse, Spotify Greenroom also records the live audio sessions for moderation purposes. Spotify also hopes to install more chat controls to ensure the quality of the user experience.
Greenroom hopes to counter some of the problems with hate speech exhibited by users on other audio platforms. In the past, many Clubhouse users have reported toxicity, racism, and misogyny in chat rooms due to the lack of regulation on the app.
While Clubhouse relies on a more progress-oriented follower metric, Greenroom prioritizes the quality of a user’s content on the platform.
What Spotify Has Planned for Greenroom
The company plans to make further updates on live broadcasts and programmed content related to culture, arts, and entertainment. Spotify wants to alter Locker Room’s reputation for being a primarily sports-focused platform.
It also hopes to launch more features to provide the ultimate user experience and further distinguish itself from some of its other competitors.
Spotify will also be marketing Greenroom to its artists through its Spotify for Artists channels and hopes to unravel monetization options for creators in the near future.
Spotify is also planning a Creator Fund that will update the app with more content in the future and also encourage further collaboration and engagement from artists. Spotify hopes to support and reward creators for the communities they help build and hopes to work hand in hand with artists to further expand and diversify Greenroom.
The Creator Fund will help artists get rewarded for the content that they create. The Fund also promises to help and reward artists for the content they put out and the work they undertake to expand their audience outreach.
Could Spotify Greenroom One-Up Clubhouse?
Spotify’s venture into the live audio market appears promising so far, especially given what Spotify has in the works for Greenroom in the near future.
Overall, the current trajectory of Spotify Greenroom appears to be promising. It will also catalyze further competition within the live audio market.
While Greenroom still seems to parallel some of the core functionalities offered by Clubhouse, it still bears the signature of Spotify’s personalization and functionalities to make it equally unique as well as competitive.
Therefore, Greenroom might just be the next big game-changer in the live audio experience.
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