Tag: Live Audio
Posted inNews

Facebook reportedly paying musicians to host Live Audio Rooms

Avatar photo by Stuart Dredge

Facebook’s music payments take several forms. The most prominent are the licensing deals it has signed with rightsholders and collecting societies for user-generated content including music, although these deals have sparked debate around what data (if any) comes with them to ensure the payments are divided accurately based on the music being used.

Then there are the various Facebook (and we’re talking about the service here, rather than the parent corporation Meta) initiatives around making money for creators, musicians included, such as its ‘Stars’ livestream tipping system.

Now there’s a third: paying musicians to host sessions in Facebook’s Clubhouse-like ‘Live Audio Rooms’ feature. The Information reported that the company is paying artists and other celebrities “tens of thousands of dollars” to host these sessions, trumping the payments being offered by Clubhouse to its top creators.

Posted inNews

Spotify’s Lorem playlist gets a live Greenroom spin-off

Avatar photo by Stuart Dredge

‘Lorem’ made its name as one of Spotify’s first ‘genreless’ playlists. Now it’s spinning off a genreless live talk-show on the company’s Greenroom app. It’s one of five new shows that Spotify is launching on its Clubhouse-style subsidiary.

‘Lorem Life’ will air every Wednesday at 9pm ET, hosted by “beloved Gen Z influencers” Dev Lemons and Max Motley. Note, they won’t just be talking about the music on the playlist that week. “A mix of culture and discussions on music, art, the environment, sustainability, fashion, and space” is how Spotify trailed it. Another playlist, ‘Most Necessary’, is also getting a live Greenroom show, focusing on emerging hip-hop.

Using a playlist as the basis for a live audio show isn’t a new concept, of course: Apple Music has been doing it for some time on its in-house radio stations.

The other Spotify Greenroom shows launching this week include ‘A Gay In The Life’ (a show about LGBTQIA+ life and issues); ‘Take A Seat’ (pop culture); and ‘The Movie Buff’ (yes, films).

Posted inSandbox

The Sandbox Guide to… Live Audio

by Rocio Sanchez

Our latest Sandbox Guide walks you through live audio – and how to use platforms like Clubhouse, Spotify’s Greenroom, and Twitter’s Spaces to create loyal fan communities, redefine the concept of “performance”, and host listening parties for new music or re-releases. (It arrives right on time, too: yesterday Spotify announced its Greenroom live audio app soft-launch!). This Guide is […]

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Posted inNews

Spotify Greenroom goes live as a Clubhouse-style live audio app

Avatar photo by Stuart Dredge

Spotify acquired startup Betty Labs in March, attracted by its Clubhouse-style live audio app Locker Room, which was aimed at sports fans.

The following month, CEO Daniel Ek announced that Locker Room would be rebranded and relaunched as Spotify Greenroom, focusing on music and culture as well as sport. That relaunch is happening today.

“We’re making Spotify Greenroom available for the first time in its new form, available on iOS and Android in over 135 markets around the world,” announced Spotify in a blog post.

Posted inNews

Patreon and Clubhouse funding rounds come with $4bn valuations

Avatar photo by Stuart Dredge

Neither Patreon nor Clubhouse are ‘music/tech startups’ specifically, but both are highly relevant to our industry and – particularly in Patreon’s case – its artists. And it seems both companies may be rocking the same quadruple-unicorn (is that a thing?) valuation of $4bn with their latest funding rounds.

Only one of those rounds is official at this point. Fan-funding platform Patreon has raised $155m at a $4bn valuation in a round led by Tiger Global Management, with various other VCs chipping in. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that live-audio startup Clubhouse is in talks with investors to raise its next funding round with the same valuation, although the size of the funding is unconfirmed.