Spotify rebranding its live social audio app

Spotify Technology SA is renaming its live conversation product and integrating the content into its main streaming app to make the service more accessible for users, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.

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The company will rebrand its live social audio app, Greenroom, as Spotify Live. That app will used as a place where content creators can organization conversations, which subscribers can hear on the main Spotify app. The changes are expected to take place in the second quarter of this year, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.  

Evidence of the change was also found in a beta version of Spotify’s iPhone app by developer Steve Moser, who shared it with Bloomberg News. 

The Stockholm-based music streaming giant acquired Betty Labs, the maker of social audio app Locker Room, last year and rebranded it to Greenroom shortly thereafter. At the time, tech companies were hyper-focused on live audio because the social audio app Clubhouse had shown great growth and success netting big name stars to join its conversations.

Clubhouse reached more than 10 million users within a year of its launch, and other social media companies built or acquired similar products in response. Twitter Inc. launched Twitter Spaces; Meta Platforms Inc. introduced Live Audio Rooms on Facebook; and even LinkedIn announced a similar feature, as did Reddit and Discord. 

Spotify’s Greenroom has struggled to take off, however, and the hype around social audio has died down, despite the company signing a number of content deals. The live shows often revolve around music, sports and culture, but the idea is anyone can start a conversation live and bring audience members up on stage to chat.

Spotify most recently partnered with Complex Networks to exclusively host all of its live audio efforts. It also signed a deal with the sports podcast “The Fantasy Footballers” to host weekly conversations. Bringing this functionality in-app might help Spotify gain a stronger foothold in live audio and make it easier for users, who already come to Spotify to listen to music and podcasts, to find the content.

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—Bloomberg News