Clubhouse competition? Why Spotify has better chances with "Greenroom

After this year's hype around the audio-based app Clubhouse, Spotify also seems to want to jump on the bandwagon. Similar to other audio apps, live conversations about culture, sports, and music will take place in the "Greenroom," according to Spotify. Especially if Greenroom can be linked with Spotify, the new app shows enormous promise - explicitly for musicians with a large reach on the streaming platform.

But what can Greenroom do that Clubhouse can't? And what happens when the live conversations are also available for listening on Spotify?

First Clubhouse, now Greenroom?

The success of Clubhouse recently proved that users will still be interested in new social media platforms in 2021. A purely audio-based app in which conversations are conducted like a kind of panel discussion.

For a long time, Spotify was considered the market leader in the audio world; with exclusive podcasting formats, the company from Sweden maneuvered itself further and further toward a monopoly position.

It seems as if Spotify senses a big competition in the Clubhouse app, but the beta version of Greenroom was released relatively quickly for testing by all interested parties. The two apps are based on the same concept; apart from visual aspects, Clubhouse and Greenroom only differ slightly from each other.

A serious head start

Although Clubhouse can score points with its pioneering position, Spotify could ultimately win this competition. The decisive factor here is its position of power in the auditory sector. The Swedish company is one of the market leaders in the streaming sector as well as in podcasting and radio plays.

Spotify could now also use this influence to implement Greenroom on the market, as some podcasters and musicians have a close connection, if not financial dependence, on Spotify. In particular, if an artist's profile on the streaming platform can be linked to that on Greenroom in the future, these same artists would benefit from the reach they have already generated on Spotify in the form of followers.

This would give Spotify a big head start, since fans could immediately access their stars' profiles when the two platforms are linked. Whether this feature will actually be implemented is not yet completely clear, but according to Spotify, they are already preparing for it.

Continuing diversity of topics

As far as the topics to be discussed in the rooms are concerned, there is currently no difference to Clubhouse; here, too, the topics range from celebrities and sports to coaching and small talk. Even if music streaming initially seemed to be Spotify's hobbyhorse, the last few years have shown that the platform also dominates the podcast market. While the topics covered by the audio formats are by no means limited, the variety of conversations on Greenroom is likely to be in harmony with the platform.

Podcasters of all topics that have already been able to find an audience on Spotify will also be able to transfer this audience to Greenroom; such a room can be considered an extension of regular podcasting from this point of view. The variety of topics on Greenroom does not harm the auditory platform at all. Rather, it offers the opportunity to further serve the individual interests of the listeners.

Live or for listening after all?

It's the live factor that makes Clubhouse so special. The conversations take place here in real time. Anyone who doesn't join in via app misses out on the talk. However, since Spotify already has the infrastructure for on-demand audio content, it's not far-fetched to think about offering Greenroom conversations as podcasts for listening in the future.

While this removes the feeling of exclusivity of the moment, it also gives creators an enormous advantage. On the one hand, the live conversations in Rooms are more profitable if they are also available for later listening for followers who could not be present in the app at the live event. On the other hand, podcasters can involve their listeners directly in the creation of a new podcast episode, responding to their questions and thus producing content interactively. With this possible feature of Greenroom, Spotify would once again revolutionize the podcast world and lay the starting signal for interactive podcasting.

Conclusion

Greenroom looks promising. Spotify's position of power in the streaming and podcasting sector means that this new platform is unlikely to flop. In addition, the streaming platform's lead in terms of awareness and use by countless listeners is very clear here. For musicians and podcasters alike, Greenroom can be used as an augmented form of communication, with podcasters possibly even designing their conversations as interactive podcast episodes.

While the idea behind Greenroom is by no means new, Spotify will still manage to slide one step further towards monopoly status with the new platform and put Clubhouse out of competition.

* Dominik Sedlmeier is CEO and PR manager of the brand agency El Clasico Media and expert when it comes to marketing, social media and digitization.