Spotify has announced the shutdown of its standalone live audio app, Spotify Live, formerly known as Spotify Greenroom. The app was developed after Spotify’s acquisition of Betty Labs for $62 million in 2021. However, the company has decided to sunset the app after a period of experimentation and learnings around how users interact with live audio. Although Spotify believes that there is a future for live fan-creator interactions in its ecosystem, the standalone app no longer makes sense based on their learnings. Spotify has seen promising results in the artist-focused use case of “listening parties” and plans to continue exploring ways to facilitate live interactions between artists and fans moving forward.
Last year, Spotify canceled several live audio shows, signaling a scaling back of its previous ambitions. This decision was made after CEO Daniel Ek predicted that live audio would become ubiquitous, stating that he expected all platforms to have it. Nevertheless, Spotify’s actions indicate otherwise. Similarly, Facebook parent company Meta shut down Soundbites, the short-form audio-sharing tool it introduced in 2021, and several other audio products in May 2021.
Spotify has confirmed the impending shutdown of Spotify Live to TechCrunch, but has not immediately responded to Engadget’s request for comment. Although Spotify is shutting down the standalone app, the company will continue to explore live fan-creator interactions in the Spotify ecosystem. The integration of some of the app’s functionality into the main Spotify app will make it easier for users to access live audio content while offering Spotify an opportunity to promote listening parties and other artist-focused interactions. While Spotify’s shutdown of Spotify Live may seem like a setback for the live audio format, the company’s continued focus on artist-fan interactions shows that live audio still has a promising future on the platform.
Main Image:TechCrunch
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