In April of last year, Facebook announced a suite of new audio products, including new support for podcasts and a live audio competitor, which was an indication that it was taking the threat from other audio platforms more seriously. A report claims that Facebook's interest in the space is starting to fade, barely a year after it began.
According to a new report, Facebook is looking to prioritize other initiatives in collaboration with its podcast partners, and that it is pulling back from its podcasting efforts. According to its sources, Facebook is now focused on pursuing other opportunities, like events in the metaverse and e-commerce. Increasing competition from TikTok is said to be the reason why Facebook's parent company Meta is prioritized over other initiatives.
Meta believes that audio is an important medium for expression and is seeing good engagement with its audio features. The company said it has been getting feedback from creators on what it can improve on. Meta didn't elaborate on the matter anymore.
The idea of creating a training program for creators on Facebook never came to fruition. Facebook didn't sponsor the conference's main event last month and a Meta employee didn't attend the event either. Some of the Live Audio Room deals have not been renewed.
It isn't a surprise that Meta pivots to the metaverse in regards to its relationship with its partners, especially given its parent company's recent corporate branding and decision to prioritize the metaverse above certain other. Meta recently announced that it won't be holding its F8 developer conference this year in order to focus on the metaverse.
It was a competitive move by Facebook a year ago when Apple and Spotify were dominating the market. It would take a lot for Facebook to compete with Apple and Spotify, even if the company has a lot of money to spend. There is a question as to how long Meta can afford to invest in the metaverse, given that it has dropped nearly $10 billion on the effort to date. It is just getting started.
The live audio market is dominated by two companies, both of which are continuing to develop more features. Live audio became popular as people were confined to their homes. As restrictions have been lifted for most of the world and in-person events have returned, Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces have been looking to improve their platforms.
A new in-room gaming feature that is designed to spur conversation and help people get to know each other better is being tested by Clubhouse. The ability for anyone to host a Space is one of the new features that has been launched by Twitter.
Facebook invests in audio with short-form Soundbites feature, podcast support and a Clubhouse clone
All Rights Reserved © 2024
