Social media giant Facebook is making a big bet on the future of audio — announcing four new audio-focused features coming to the Facebook app over the coming months. Many of them are designed to compete with other services like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, proving that Facebook wants to be a top player in the rising trend of live audio chat rooms.
There have been numerous rumors leading up to this announcement indicating that Facebook was looking to challenge Clubhouse. Just a couple of weeks ago, Facebook made its first attempt with the launch of Hotline. Hotline is the latest project from Facebook’s NPE creative division, touting itself as a more professional version of Clubhouse that also has video. However, while Hotline is offered as its own standalone service, Facebook’s latest audio tools are all integrated directly within the Facebook and Messenger applications that millions of people are already using.
Kicking things off, Facebook has unveiled a short-form audio creation platform called ‘Soundbites.’ Soundbites will allow people to record stories, poems, jokes, or any random thought and post them on their Facebook page to share with friends. Users will be able to add sound effects, captions, mixed audio tracks, and more. When a short audio clip doesn’t cut it, Facebook is also making a big bet on podcasts. Over the next few months, creators will be able to add their podcast feed to their Facebook page. Users can browse episodes from the new Podcasts tab, listen to them directly within the Facebook app (even when it’s in the background), or open podcasts in another app like Spotify. Facebook also says it’ll launch a podcast discovery tool to help users “find new podcasts and episodes based on your interests.”
Will Facebook Be Able To Defeat Clubhouse With These New Features?
The Clubhouse inspiration is seen with Live Audio Rooms — both for Facebook Groups and Facebook Messenger. Messenger Rooms launched in April 2020 as Facebook’s custom take on Zoom, allowing people to use Facebook Messenger to create group video calls with friends and family. With Live Audio Rooms, friends can hop on a group audio call and talk to each other without video. This functionality is expected to launch in the summer.
Live Audio Rooms for Facebook Groups is Facebook’s most direct attack on Clubhouse, with the setup looking virtually identical to Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and other competing apps. People within Facebook Groups will create a Live Audio Room for others to join, with there being a set lineup of speakers at the front of the virtual stage and the audience displayed below them. Listeners appear to be sectioned off, including the Front Row and people that the speakers follow. Live and upcoming Audio Rooms will be clearly marked in the Groups tab, and there will also be tools for sharing a room, giving emoji reactions, and integrated donations if a group is trying to raise money for a charity.
As for whether or not all of this is successful, that’s the million-dollar question. Facebook already has 1.8 billion people using its Groups feature every single month, meaning there’s a massive potential audience for users that’ll either host Live Audio Rooms or listen to their favorite creators and celebrities on Facebook instead of another service. Things like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces all essentially work the same way — it’s just a matter of establishing an audience that’ll actually use the things. Facebook has a substantially larger user base than Twitter and Clubhouse combined, meaning Live Audio Rooms will be exposed to a massive number of people. From that perspective alone, Facebook is set up for success with Live Audio Rooms. It may not be as hip or exclusive as Clubhouse, but if even just a fraction of Facebook Groups members use the new audio rooms, it’ll be a massive win for Facebook.
