Clubhouse unveils voice note feature

PLUS - Spotify CFO talks about 'evolution' of podcasting strategy

Async voice channel goes live on Clubhouse

Anyone remember Clubhouse? Well the app that took the pandemic by storm has just launched a major update. Co-founder Paul Davison spoke about the changes users could expect in a town hall a week or so ago, and now the new version is live.

Front and centre of the update is a new feature they are calling Chats. It allows you to record a voice note which can be replied to asynchronously. The notes stack up one after another and play within a UI similar to Stories with a top bar showing where you are in the overall chat.

It’s refreshing to see a platform removing features rather than bundling them all in. The social media landscape of late is certainly awash with lookalike apps. YouTube trying to be a podcast platform, Threads trying to be Twitter and X trying to be everything, everywhere, all at once! So I admire Clubhouse’s return to voice and audio as the main channels of communication on the app.

But is this a feature that nobody asked for in an app nobody now uses?

I sense Clubhouse isn’t trying to capture the audience it had (sorry Millennials, I think they’re done with you). Maybe they believe the app’s survival rests on being relevant and appealing to a younger audience. A Gen Z/Alpha audience who are soaking up short-form, on demand content and are maybe less interested in an audio-only long-form live experience.

Hit reply and let me know your thoughts…

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• Clubhouse blog announces long-awaited update | Clubhouse

This week on #AllThingsAudio we spoke about the Clubhouse update including our first thoughts on the new Chats feature and Followers becoming Friends. We also spoke about audio and video calls coming to X and Spaces desktop adding the chat feature.

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Ear candy for the micro-sound fans out there…

So ends another week in audio.

Don’t forget to join the exclusive Stop. Rewind. Play. chat right here on Substack. To join tap the two speech bubbles on the lower nav bar in the mobile app or hit chat in the left hand menu on the web. Drop by and say hello in the intro thread.

See you next week!

Suze