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Clubhouse was valued at $1 billion in January, and the live audio market has only gotten hotter since.
Spotify is joining the fray of live audio broadcasters with its acquisition of sports talk network Locker Room and parent company Betty Labs, a deal that values the company at around $50 million.
Like Clubhouse, Locker Room allows for live voice chats between listeners and hosts. Launched in October, the app has hosted conversations with NBA players like Andre Igoudala and Seth Curry.
Igoudala participated in Locker Room’s initial $9.3 million fundraising round, along with Kevin Durant and former player Baron Davis. Spotify joins a crowded field of tech companies offering live audio content.
- Fireside, co-founded by Mark Cuban, is a live audio app that allows hosts to record their conversations. It plans to launch later this year.
- Facebook is working on a live audio app, too.
- Twitter Spaces is being used for a blend of regular shows and spontaneous chats, per Twitter spokesperson Jen Santamaria. NBA personality Rob Perez has hosted Twitter Spaces conversations with as many as 44,000 attendees.
Spotify plans to rebrand Locker Room and expand its topics beyond sports and into music and pop culture. It is open to various monetization models for Locker Room, including letting creators charge for content or as a funnel to Spotify’s broader network of audio content.
