Facebook is all set to wage a full-blown war against Clubhouse, the newest and hottest entrant in the social media space!
According to the latest media reports, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has revealed that the social media behemoth is planning to launch not one but multiple audio products. They will include a Clubhouse-like live audio room and a way for users to discover and play new podcast.
It is quite obvious that Facebook’s decision to dive headfirst into the audio space comes after the sudden explosion of interest surrounding Clubhouse, an exclusive audio-only iOS app wherein billionaires, tech moguls, and celebrities are hanging out.
Zuckerberg announced that Facebook, in the coming months, will launch several features, including short-form audio clips called ‘Souundbites’ and a way for users to create sound effects or improve audio quality. But that’s not all.
In a blog post, Facebook mentioned that it would soon begin to test live audio rooms, which will launch around summer. Also, the company’s NPE team has already unveiled another Clubhouse-like product known as Hotline.
The one-year-old app Clubhouse, which, after its recent fundraising round, was valued at a whopping $4 billion, demonstrated the potential of audio chat services after it launched in the thick of the pandemic in March 2020 and kept growing rapidly since then.
Now, that being said, with Facebook gearing up to launch its multiple audio products, Twitter launching Spaces and Reddit unveiling a look of its Reddit Talks, it is not exactly clear if Clubhouse can maintain the leading position in the social audio space.
Given the app is still invite-only and not yet available on Android, the audio products of rival social media bigwigs can easily outpace Clubhouse when it comes to distribution. But that’s not the only red flag.
Analytics firm Sensor Tower quite recently estimated that the Clubhouse had suffered a 72% decline in the number of installs, 9.6 million in February to 2.4 million in March. Thus, this shows it is time for Clubhouse to buckle up and accelerate its growth initiatives.
Facebook mentioned that its live audio rooms would be made available on its Messenger product and on its main app as well. The company will first test the rooms with public features as well as in Groups.
When launched, Facebook’s live rooms will also let users send donations or tips to their favourite creators via a token system called ‘Stars’. The social media behemoth plans to monetize the rooms via single purchase accesses and subscriptions. And, quite similar to Clubhouse, Facebook has also announced a creator fund for Soundbites.
Therefore, all in all, it is well understood that the game is afoot and only the best will survive! We will keep you updated on all future developments. Until then, stay tuned.
