Spotify is taking on Clubhouse — here's how

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Spotify buys Locker Room, eyes up Clubhouse's territory

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Spotify is jumping on the Clubhouse bandwagon, according to The Verge, which reports that Spotify is bringing its own Clubhouse rival to the party.

As expected, Spotify’s Clubhouse competitor will focus on music, sports and wider cultural conversations. It follows Spotify’s acquisition of Betty Labs, the creators of Locker Room, a live sports audio app.

Locker Room will remain on the App Store despite the Spotify takeover, but it will be rebranded in the near future for both iOS and eventually Android.

Spotify believes live audio is ideal for creators: those who want to connect with digital audiences, be this through a live Q&A, an album premiere or even an exclusive artist performance.

With the Locker Room acquisition, Spotify steps onto the hallowed lands occupied by Clubhouse. It's not the only new competitor in the arena: Facebook is set to launch its own Clubhouse-type podcasting through Facebook Rooms and even Twitter has its own spin on Clubhouse called Spaces.

The move is also reminiscent of recent updates to Telegram, which recently introduced Voice Notes 2.0, riffing off Clubhouse’s live discussions feature.

Spotify's chief R&D officer, Gustav Söderström, thinks the new platform will democratize discussions between artists and followers, letting anyone host conversations, not just creators approved by Spotify.

Although there's no obligation for Spotify-employed creators to partake in live chats on the Spotify app, it would no doubt be flattering to artists' existing Spotify audience to have these live discussions, even winning them further followers. 

Have no fear, though: The original Spotify app and the new app will stay separate, as to not confuse both apps' offerings. This is good news for the majority of causal listeners with Spotify accounts. 

More: Clubhouse app hacked and audio reposted for all 

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Luke Wilson
Luke Wilson

Luke is a Trainee News Writer at T3 and contributor to Tom's Guide, having graduated from the DMU/Channel 4 Journalism School with an MA in Investigative Journalism. Before switching careers, he worked for Mindshare WW. When not indoors messing around with gadgets, he's a disc golf enthusiast, keen jogger, and fond of all things outdoors.