Spotify to Shut Down Standalone Live Audio App, Spotify Live
Spotify announced on Monday that it will be shutting down its standalone live audio app, Spotify Live, previously known as Spotify Greenroom, after a period of experimentation and learnings around how Spotify users interact with live audio.
The app came out of Spotify's $62 million acquisition of Betty Labs in 2021. After the acquisition, Spotify rebranded the startup's Locker Room app to Spotify Greenroom, and expanded the scope of the experience to include topics outside of sports. Almost a year ago, the company renamed the platform yet again and integrated some of its functionality into the main Spotify app.
According to a Spotify spokesperson, while they believe there is a future for live fan-creator interactions in the Spotify ecosystem, it no longer makes sense as a standalone app. The company has seen promising results in the artist-focused use case of "listening parties," which it will continue to explore moving forward to facilitate live interactions between artists and fans.
When Spotify first announced it was moving into live audio at the height of the medium in 2021, CEO Daniel Ek predicted the format would become ubiquitous. However, the company canceled a host of live audio shows at the end of last year, signaling a scaling back of its previous ambitions.
Other companies, including Facebook parent company Meta, have also pulled back from the live audio format. Last May, Meta announced it was shutting down a host of audio products, including Soundbites, the short-form audio-sharing tool it introduced in 2021.
