Spotify’s recently launched live audio app and clubhouse rival Spotify Greenroom has a long way to go if it is to compete with the top social audio platforms like Clubhouse, Airtime, Spoon, and more, not to mention the top social -Networks like Twitter and Facebook. According to data from the app intelligence company Sensor Tower, the new Greenroom app has only been downloaded a total of 141,000 times on iOS. This includes downloads from its previous version Locker Room – an app from Spotify acquired to make its move into live audio.
On Android, Google Play data shows the app has been installed over 100,000 times, but Sensor Tower is not yet able to confirm this number.
For comparison: Clubhouse today has 30.2 million total installations, including 18.7 million on iOS, says Sensor Tower.
Other top audio apps are Airtime, with 11.4 million iOS installs out of a total of 14.3 million (including Android); and Spoon with 7.6 million iOS installs out of a total of 27.3 million.
International apps like Yalla from the United Arab Emirates and Lizhi from China are also huge, with the previous 48.1 total installs, of which 3.8 million are on iOS. The latter has more than 29.5 million installs, but only a handful on iOS.
There are other newcomers who have managed to hold their own in the social audio space, including Fishbowl (759,000 installations in total), Cappuccino (497,000 installations), Riff (339,000 installations) and Sonar (154,000 installations).
Credit: Sensor tower. The company analyzed 34 social audio apps. The diagram shows those with the most installations.
The Spotify Greenroom launch last month, meanwhile, appears to have attracted only a small fraction of Spotify’s larger user base that is now grew to 365 million monthly active users.
The majority of Greenroom’s installations – about 106,000 – came after Greenroom officially launched from July 16, 2021 through July 25, 2021, says Sensor Tower. If you only count the Greenroom installations, the app ranks 12th among the social audio apps. It is followed by Tin Can, which has seen 127,000 installs since it was launched in early March.
Since Greenroom took over Locker Room’s installation base, a portion of Greenroom’s total iOS installations (141,000) included downloads that occurred when the app was still Locker Room. But that number is pretty small. Sensor Tower estimates that Locker Room has only had about 35,000 iOS installs to date. This also includes the period from October 26, 2020 – the month in which the sports chat app brought to the public – until the day before Greenroom’s debut (July 15, 2021).
We also point out that downloads are not to be equated with registered users and are far less active users. Many people download a new app to try it out but then leave shortly after downloading it or never even think about opening it.
That means the number of people currently actively using Greenroom is likely to be much fewer than these numbers suggest.
Spotify declined to comment on third party estimates.
While Sensor Tower examined the competition between social audio apps in the app stores, Spotify’s competition in the live audio market is of course not limited to stand-alone apps.
Other major technology platforms have also recently incorporated social audio into their apps, including Facebook (Live Audio Rooms), Twitter (Spaces), Discord (Stage Channels), and trading apps Public. A comparison with Greenroom is not possible here, as these companies would have to disclose how many of their active users are engaged in live audio and have not yet done so.
Despite a potentially slower pickup, Greenroom shouldn’t be counted just yet. The app is brand new and has time to catch up if all goes well. (And if the market for live audio in general continues to grow – although the height of the Covid locks that started all those live audio socializing in the first place seems to be over.)
Spotify’s success or failure with live audio will be particularly interesting as the company has the potential to promote live audio shows, events, and artist-produced content through its flagship streaming music application. However, what kind of programming Greenroom might later include is still unknown.
Follow Spotify Acquisition from locker room manufacturer Betty Labs, the company said it would introduce programmed content related to music, culture and entertainment in addition to sports. It also started a Creator Fund to provide the app with new content.
But so far, Spotify hasn’t given its users a huge incentive to visit Greenroom.
The company explained why during its second quarter 2021 results. It was said that Greenroom first had to be stabilized for a “Spotify audience”, which is why the app was only launched as a soft launch in June. Going forward, Spotify says there will be “more connections” with the main Spotify app, but didn’t offer any specifics.
“Of course we will use our existing distribution on Spotify,” said Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. “But this feels like a great way to learn, experiment, and iterate much faster than if we had to wait for full integration with the main app,” he added.