Facebook Inc announced its plan to expand into the audio market. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the social media company will be launching several audio products. One of them includes live rooms feature that resembles Clubhouse. The expansion into the audio market is, as admitted by Facebook, due to the sudden explosion of interest in Clubhouse.
The audio market in 2021, as seen from the success of Clubhouse
During its first year since launch, Clubhouse has shown the potential of audio chat services. Though, whether or not Clubhouse may prevail, remains a big question.
As Clubhouse insists on limiting its app on iOs, android users are using other social media to experience audio stream feature. Not only Facebook, Clubhouse has also initiated similar changes to other social media. Twitter’s Spaces, Discord soon-to-be-launched new features, Microsoft’s LinkedIn, Slack, Spotify, and even Reddit are jumping into the bandwagon. And now, Facebook also announces a similar plan.
Meanwhile, Clubhouse itself suffered an estimated 70% freefall in downloads in March from February. Analytics firm Sensor Tower even estimated a slightly higher loss at 72% in Clubhouse’s growth. This would mean Clubhouse installs depreciated from 9.6 million in February to only about 2.4 million in March.
Facebook and its attempt to fit in the audio market
Other than the Clubhouse inspired feature, Facebook is also looking for other two audio expansions. The social media company looks to launch short-form audio clips named “Soundbites” in the upcoming months. Additionally, Facebook mentioned plans to allow its users to search for podcasts on the platform. Along with all the additional features, Facebook will be improving audio quality for the platform, as explained through a .
Accordingly, Facebook’s live audio room will be available for public figures as well as Groups. Users who participate in the live stream will be able to send donations or tips to creators hosting the broadcast through “Stars”. Facebook further added that types of monetization might further be divided into single-purchase access or subscription-based rooms.
Though Facebook’s plan sounds more than promising, the new feature might become one of the greatest challenges for Facebook, which has been long criticized for its flawed content control management.
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