Monday, August 8, 2022
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
Scoftware Magazine
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Entertainment
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Scoftware Magazine
Home Tech

Spotify acquires sports-talk app Locker Room

Jaleel M. by Jaleel M.
March 31, 2021
in Tech
0
Spotify acquires sports-talk app Locker Room
0
SHARES
12
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Spotify Technology SA is making its move into live audio by acquiring the sports-talk app Locker Room and its maker Betty Labs.

The deal values the company, initially backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, and more recently by Google Ventures and Precursor Ventures, at around $50 million, according to a person familiar with the transaction. If certain targets are met the value could climb closer to $80 million, this person said.

Locker Room has quickly become the spot for fan chatter around games and sports news, with the likes of Miami Heat forward Andre Iguodala and Philadelphia 76ers guard Seth Curry to podcaster Ant Wright and ESPN’s Jeff Darlington dropping in for conversations as well. It filled a real-time, interactive void for sports fans left by the inability to gather in arenas, stadiums and bars during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The purchase follows an explosion in demand for live audio apps amid the pandemic. Voice-based social networks, such as Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, Water Cooler and Locker Room, allow users to converse spontaneously. They are an alternative to podcasts, but they are also a curated amalgamation of podcasts, live streams, conferences and radio. Comedians, artists and business leaders have flocked to these apps’ virtual rooms to perform, chat, debate and network across topics and industries.

For Spotify, which has expanded into podcasting to position itself as the world’s largest audio company—not just a music-streaming giant—the deal is a bet that live audio will last well beyond the pandemic.

“Our creators have been asking for a long time to be able to be more interactive with fans,” Gustav Söderström, Spotify’s research and development chief, said in an interview. “The most effective way is to actually speak to them live.”

The Locker Room app is less than a year old. It launched in October of last year and has seen about 19,000 installs since then, according to app research firm Sensor Tower Inc. So far in March, it has seen about 8,000 installs, already representing 60% month-over-month growth from all of February.

Spotify plans to rebrand and relaunch the app with a broader focus across sports, music and pop culture. The company plans to keep it a stand-alone product, but users will be able to record live sessions and upload them to Spotify or podcasting platform Anchor and distribute them broadly. The streaming giant plans to tap its music and podcasting stars and users to facilitate programming with artists hosting album-listening parties or DJs spinning live sets before uploading them as playlists. Sportscasters and fans can weigh in around games, and podcasters could host live “ask me anything” sessions, or AMAs.

“How do you talk to many people at once has been a challenge, and this format has turned out to be very scalable,” Mr. Söderström said. “You can have a few people on stage, you can raise your hand in the audience and be unmuted and ask a question, unlike on Twitter where you have everyone screaming all at once.”

For now, the app and its content will remain free for all to access, though Spotify has been working on ways for creators to monetize their content, such as a la carte payments for podcasts.

“Maybe live is a revenue model, maybe it isn’t,” said Mr. Söderström, adding that while China has shown aptitude to pay for this kind of service, Western markets haven’t. “It has potential, and it’s our job to explore.”

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters

* Enter a valid email

* Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.



Source link

Related posts

This WhatsApp feature allows users to hide unwanted group chats without leaving them. Here’s how

This WhatsApp feature allows users to hide unwanted group chats without leaving them. Here’s how

July 29, 2021
WhatsApp in line for fine as data watchdogs resolve dispute

WhatsApp in line for fine as data watchdogs resolve dispute

July 28, 2021
Previous Post

India’s tech dreams to get a boost amid China-US tensions: report

Next Post

Last day to file Income Tax Return today: Steps to file ITR online at incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in

Next Post
Last day to file Income Tax Return today: Steps to file ITR online at incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in

Last day to file Income Tax Return today: Steps to file ITR online at incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

China’s Microsoft hack, Russia’s solar winds attack threaten to overwhelm US

China’s Microsoft hack, Russia’s solar winds attack threaten to overwhelm US

1 year ago
Taiwan’s ruling DPP wins key mayoral by-election, East Asia News & Top Stories

Taiwan’s ruling DPP wins key mayoral by-election, East Asia News & Top Stories

2 years ago
Brix Releases New Single “Call me naïve, but I guess I thought if the world was ending, you would call” –

Brix Releases New Single “Call me naïve, but I guess I thought if the world was ending, you would call” –

2 years ago
Best Back to College Sales 2020: Deals on Dorm Essentials, Campus Style & More

Best Back to College Sales 2020: Deals on Dorm Essentials, Campus Style & More

2 years ago

FOLLOW US

  • 116 Followers
  • 29.5k Followers
  • 174k Subscribers

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • National
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • World News

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2018 League Balinese Culture Bali United Budget Travel Champions League Chopper Bike Doctor Terawan Istana Negara Market Stories National Exam Visit Bali

POPULAR NEWS

  • Charles B and Kamil Ghaouti Collaborate on Groovy New Track “You’re Not Mine,” featuring LauraBrown. Out on Protocol Recordings

    Charles B and Kamil Ghaouti Collaborate on Groovy New Track “You’re Not Mine,” featuring LauraBrown. Out on Protocol Recordings

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Sam Heughan & Graham McTavish Are Men in Kilts for Travel Show

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Kris Jenner Spills Details About Her Sex Life With Corey Gamble: Watch

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Salted vs. Unsalted Pistachios

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Common Saints Release New Single “Idol Eyes”

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers

© 2020 Scoftware.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • National
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Opinion

© 2020 Scoftware.com

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy