Spotify is hopping into the live audio business with the procurement of sports talk app Locker Room and its parent organization Betty Labs, as Billboard reports. Locker Room, which launched in October 2020 as an app where sports fans could examine games together, was bought for an undisclosed sum. (The Wall Street Journal, refering to a source “familiar with the transaction,” said the deal values Betty Labs around $50 million.)
The streaming organization intends to grow Locker Room into a service that will “offer a range of sports, music, and cultural programming, as well as a host of interactive features that enable creators to connect with audiences in real time.”
“Creators and fans have been asking for live formats on Spotify, and we’re excited that soon, we’ll make them available to hundreds of millions of listeners and millions of creators on our platform,” said Gustav Söderström, Chief Research & Development Officer at Spotify. “The world already turns to us for music, podcasts, and other unique audio experiences, and this new live audio experience is a powerful complement that will enhance and extend the on-demand experience we provide today.”
The new commitment to the emanant live audio marketplace is the most recent advance in Spotify’s pushes toward situating itself as an all-encompassing “audio” platform, following significant acquisitions and interests in the podcasting space.
Whatever Locker Room ends up developing into, it will be facing the invitation-only audio app Clubhouse and Twitter’s recently-launched contender, Spaces.