Clubhouse and the Future of Podcasting
Clubhouse, a hybrid between social network, podcast and radio, was launched in March 2020 by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Paul Davidson and Rohan Seth. It quickly became the subject of several analyses among innovation experts.
In 2021, the app went viral after leaders in technology, such as Elon Musk, joined the idea. Following this new trend (currently invite-only and iOS exclusive), debates have been spurred regarding the future of podcasting and social networking apps in general, and whether Clubhouse presented a threat to them.
Now, let's talk numbers. In April, they announced the closing of their third round of funding since launch and according to Reuters¹ the app is now valued at US$4 billion.
For every action there is a reaction: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Spotify integrated similar tools to Clubhouse in their applications, having the number of users that they already possess as leverage. According to SensorTower², there was already a drop of 72% in downloads for Clubhouse’s app between February and March this year.
There is a common perspective for those who discuss this subject: although the future of this new company is uncertain, it is unlikely that Clubhouse will negatively affect other applications to the point of relevant changes in the market. At least not in the medium-term. Let's wait and see.
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