This time last year, it felt like live audio would be Spotify’s next big growth category. It had acquired the startup behind Clubhouse-for-sports app Locker Room, rebranded it as Spotify Greenroom, and commissioned a series of radio-style shows. Earlier this year, meanwhile, it moved Greenroom into its main app and rebranded it again, as Spotify Live.
Now there appears to be a bit of a shake up in those live shows.
Bloomberg and TechCrunch have both reported that several are being cancelled, although some (like sports shows ‘The Fantasy Footballers’ and ‘The Ringer MMA Show’) will continue.
With Clubhouse’s popularity having waned and Facebook having pulled back from live audio, it’s tempting to portray Spotify as also losing interest in live audio – especially now that audiobooks are its new big spoken-word thing. However, it could just as much be part of the learning process, as Spotify understands which live shows have worked well with its audience, and recalibrates its content strategy accordingly.
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