Spotify Greenroom is officially out for iOS and Android devices — giving Clubhouse yet another competitor to go up against. Greenroom looks a lot like any other app in the popular live audio niche, but thanks to the popularity and brand awareness of Spotify, it just might have a shot at beating Clubhouse at its own game.
Since the debut of Clubhouse in April 2020, it seems like every tech company has tried to mimic its live conversation formula one way or another. This includes the likes of Twitter Spaces, Reddit Talk, Facebook Live Audio Groups, and plenty more. This past March, Spotify announced it was also getting in the game with its purchase of Locker Room. Created by Betty Labs, Locker Room was a sports-centric Clubhouse alternative where users could chat with sports insiders, athletes, and other like-minded fans.
A few months later, Spotify has gotten rid of the Locker Room branding and redesigned the app as 'Spotify Greenroom.' Users can still use the app to talk about sports if they want, but Greenroom is also expanding to the niches of music, culture, and more. Similar to other apps in this space, Spotify Greenroom has all of the features people have come to expect. Users can browse through existing chat rooms, join them as listeners, request to be a speaker, and even create their own room that others can join. After logging in with an existing Spotify account (or creating a new account just for Greenroom), users are asked to enter their name, date of birth, add a profile picture, and then add interests so Greenroom can recommend personalized rooms for them to join. There's nothing here that's especially unique or different compared to Clubhouse, but the whole experience does feel nicely polished.
Spotify Greenroom Is Facing An Uphill Battle
While a well-designed app is a great start, that alone won't be enough for Greenroom to become an instant success. The market for live audio apps is already fairly crowded, and with Spotify Greenroom offering more of the same, that doesn't bode well for it drawing people away from Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces. Spotify has confirmed that it's eventually launching a Creator Fund that'll enable people to make money off of their Greenroom shows, but again, similar things are already offered by its competitors.
Where things could get interesting is how Greenroom evolves over the coming weeks/months. According to someone familiar with the app, The Verge reports that some Greenroom functionality “will eventually make its way to the actual Spotify app.” Asking users to download a separate application is a fairly substantial roadblock, so if Greenroom is eventually baked into the existing Spotify app millions of people are already using, that’s where its potential for success really lies. That’s partly why Twitter Spaces has become as popular as it is, so it makes sense for Spotify to eventually do something similar.
For now, however, Spotify Greenroom looks like a perfectly fine app for folks that have grown tired of Clubhouse. Its functionality is mostly the same and it doesn’t bring much new to the table, but another platform could spark the interest of different types of creators — especially for the sports and music space. Spotify Greenroom is now live on iOS and Android as a free download in over 135 markets around the globe.