Social audio
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In March 2020, Alpha Exploration Co. launched a social audio application called Clubhouse on the iOS platform. The app has led to the emergence of a new social media segment known as social audio. Soon realizing the potential of this segment, a handful of companies came out with their social audio solutions as standalone products or as an expansion to their current products. Clubhouse being the pioneer in this segment, all competitors eventually adapted its features to their products.[3][4] Betty Labs launched their social audio app Locker Room for iOS a few months later in October.[5] Twitter then announced in November that it would develop a social audio feature on its platform.[6] In December 2020, Telegram introduced the social audio feature Voice Chats in its app.[7] Within the month, Twitter began beta testing its social audio feature known as Spaces with iOS users on their platform.[8]
Facebook announced plans to add social audio functionality to its app in January 2021,[9][10] and Twitter started beta testing Spaces with Android users in March.[11] Telegram released Voice Chat 2.0 around the same time.[12][13] On March 26, 2021, Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield announced that Slack would soon roll out a social audio feature.[14][15] Spotify then purchased Betty Labs and announced its intention to rename the Locker Room app.[16] On March 31, 2021, Discord introduced its social audio feature called Stage Channels.[17][18] In April, Facebook launched a social audio product called Hotline in closed beta, requiring a Twitter account to login.[19] Reddit also announced a social audio feature, known as Reddit Talk.[20][21]
On May 3, 2021, Twitter Spaces released globally.[22][23] Clubhouse launched a beta version of the Android app for users in the US on May 9, and worldwide on May 21.[24][25] On June 16, 2021, Spotify released its social audio app Spotify Greenroom on Android and iOS.[26] On June 21, 2021, Facebook released its social audio feature known as Live Audio Rooms to users based in the United States. The company said it would deploy the feature globally in the coming months.[27] On June 30, 2021, Slack started rolling out its social audio solution named Slack Huddles for paid customers.[28][29] On July 21, 2021, the Clubhouse beta ended with the launch of a full release.[30][31]