Facebook today officially announced a suite of new audio products – an indication that it takes the threat from Clubhouse and other audio platforms seriously. The company is doing more than just building its own version on Clubhouse, however, it is also announcing tools that allow podcast creators to share long-form audio, a new Spotify integration for music, and a new short-lived experience called Soundbites. .
The Clubhouse clone was probably the most discussed of the new products before today’s announcement, given the growing interest in the audio network market.
Like Clubhouse, the Facebook experience will also involve live audio cameras, in which users can engage in topical discussions.
“I think the areas where I am most excited about this on Facebook are practically in the large number of communities and groups that exist. I think you already have these communities that are organized around interests and that allow people to come together and have rooms where they can talk – it’s a very useful thing, “Zuckerberg said in a friendly interview with Platformer. , timed next to the official announcement. “When we launched video cameras early last year, groups and communities were one of the biggest areas where this took off. So, I think that in terms of sound, given how much more accessible it is, it will also be a pretty interesting area. ”
Image credits: Facebook
The live audio cameras will be available on both Facebook and Messenger, Facebook says in an official blog post.
The company will first test Live Audio Rooms in groups, reaching 1.8 billion monthly users of the groups. They will also be made available to public figures and experts. Among the first to adopt the film will be American football quarterback Russell Wilson, Grammy-nominated electronic music artist TOKiMONSTA, artist and director Elle Moxley and five-time Olympic medalist and entrepreneur Nastia Liukin, Facebook says.
Live audio cameras will be available to everyone on Facebook this summer. Also this summer, Live Audio Rooms will be available on Messenger, for an experience that allows friends to party too.
In addition to products that restore the audio functionality available in technology products from other companies, Zuckerberg also revealed that the company is working on an exclusively audio version of its competitor TikTok Instagram Reels, which allows users to move quickly through audio clips. short sorted algorithmically, a project being called Soundbites. In the blog post, Facebook detailed that they will test Soundbites in the next few months with a small group of creators before making it widely available.
Image credits: Facebook
“The point is that these are short audio clips, whether it’s people who share things they find funny … or miserable things that people want to share, that cover a lot of different genres, and topics, ”Zuckerberg said.
For podcast creators, Zuckerberg said the company will build tools for those who watch podcasts and creators through Facebook pages, but currently have no way to access the podcast’s content through the social network. He mentioned that there are now 170 million Facebook users who are connected to a page for a podcast, which is why he wants to make sure they have a way to access this audio content more easily.
Image credits: Facebook
For these users, they will be able to discover the sound and start playing it, even in the background. Or he could choose to launch a second app to continue playing it, Zuckerberg said. We understand that the experience will allow users to open Spotify directly, if they prefer to listen to music or sound there.
The feature will also help users discover new podcasts based on your interests, and users will be able to comment on podcasts and recommend them to friends.
In connection with these audio efforts, Zuckerberg referred to Facebook’s partnership with Spotify, which is now being expanded with something it internally called “Project Boombox” – an integration that would allow people to share content from their artists, playlists and more. types of audio in their feed. That content will then appear in a small online player for others to click and play.
From sources familiar with the integration of Spotify we understand that this player will support both music and podcasts. It has already been tested in markets outside the US, including Mexico and Thailand. Expect to arrive in about a week.
“Facebook’s interest in audio is an additional validation of the category and reinforces what we’ve known over time – the power and potential of audio is unlimited,” a Spotify spokesman told TechCrunch. “Our ambition has always been to make Spotify ubiquitous on platforms and devices – bringing music and podcasts to more people – and our new integration with Facebook is another step in these efforts. We look forward to a continuous partnership with Facebook, fueling audio discovery around the world, ”they added.
Zuckerberg also mentioned the need to serve the growing creative economy with its new products.
With Live Audio Rooms, fans will be able to support creators through Stars, Facebook’s existing tipping feature or donate to causes. Facebook says it will later provide other money-making tools, such as access to Live Audio Rooms on subscriptions. There is also an audio creation background available to start launching Soundbites.
The executive also talked about Facebook’s plans for a newsletter product, all under the umbrella of serving the community of creators with a suite of tools – something Twitter does now, with its plans for Super Follow.
“I think a product where a journalist or a creator can practically create a subscription for people who want to follow them, covering both a newsletter and a podcast, will be a really powerful thing,” Zuckerberg said. “So that’s a lot of what we’re going to be able to do with some of the podcasting tools. This is in line with the work we intend to do … our work on our newsletters and providing tools for freelance journalists. I think that allowing both things to come together in extremely favorable conditions for journalists and creators will be quite a powerful thing “, he remarked.
The product launches, which Vox obtained on Sunday, indicate how seriously Facebook considers the disruption of its dominance that could be attributed to the growing number of places where fans connect with creators. The threat to Facebook today is not just a new app, such as Clubhouse or Substack newsletters or even Patreon, but the fact that the creators’ economy is generally not centralized and not even owned by Facebook.