Audio chat app Clubhouse's meteoric rise hasn't just attracted the attention of users around the world, of whom there are currently some 10 million.

It's also garnered attention from other tech companies, such as Facebook, who are keen to launch their own rival versions. Now streaming music giant Spotify is throwing its hat in the ring as well.

Locker Room Talk

On Tuesday, March 30, Spotify announced that it is acquiring Betty Labs, maker of a live audio app called Locker Room. While Spotify hasn't come out and explicitly said that it plans to copy Clubhouse, the acquisition of Locker Room will allow it to operate its own competitor app. Similar apps have proven extremely popular during the pandemic lockdown.

Locker Room is a social audio app intended to allow sports fans to chat about a variety of sports. Spotify plans to expand this remit to offer "an enhanced live audio experience for a wider range of creators and fans," covering not just sports, but music, and other cultural topics.

No deal terms of the acquisition have yet been announced. According to Crunchbase, Locker Room has previously raised $9.3 million in funding, including from Google and the Amazon Alexa Fund.

"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 and Development Officer at Spotify, as quoted by Reuters.

"We are excited to join forces with Spotify and continue building the future of audio," said Betty Labs founder and CEO Howard Akumiah. "We'll invest more in our product, open the experience to Spotify's audience, diversify our content offerings, and continue expanding the community we've built."

Growing Spotify

As it's grown, Spotify has been looking for new ways to keep its momentum going---and to find unique selling points that can separate it from rivals who offer a largely identical catalog of music. Playlists and better recommendation systems are one. So is its end-of-year Wrapped audio roundup. Another is Spotify's push into podcasts, including its notable signing of Joe Rogan to an exclusive contract reported at $100 million.

Venturing into social chat apps is yet another way for Spotify to build on its broader audio-first vision. This is its first move into social audio, although it fits into the company's overall remit, while helping to make the listening experience more interactive between creators and users.