Facebook’s social audio plans include podcasts and app to take on Clubhouse

Facebook is reportedly set to unveil a number of new “social audio” products, including its own application to rival popular app Clubhouse.

The social networking company is tapping into rising demand for audio-based services amid the pandemic.

It was expected yesterday to unveil an audio-chat platform to compete with the likes of Clubhouse and Twitter’s Spaces, according to a report by the US digital media platform Vox Recode.

The new app will allow groups of people to listen and interact with speakers on an online stage.

Facebook is also reportedly venturing into podcasts through a partnership with Swedish media streaming company Spotify.

“The social network is planning to announce a series of products ... some of which will not appear for some time ... under the umbrella of social audio,” said Recode.

Other products include a new service that will allow Facebook users to record brief voice messages and post them on their newsfeeds, much in the same way as they do with text, pictures and videos.

It is also expected to release an audio-only version of videoconferencing app Messenger Rooms that it introduced in April last year to rival Zoom.

The app registered a growth in users, helped by a growth in demand for videoconferencing tools as remote working picked up pace amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Rooms product – which, again, is a version of videoconferencing without video – is the most likely candidate to go live right away ... other products may not show up, even in beta form, until later this spring,” Recode reported.

Facebook’s plans to unveil its own take on Clubhouse emerged after the invitation-only social media app closed a Series C funding round.

The undisclosed funding round, which was led by California-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, valued the start-up at about $4 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has participated in various chat programmes on Clubhouse, including one with Spotify’s chief executive Daniel Ek.

Many technology companies are experimenting with interactive audio platforms after the pandemic increased reliance on such social media apps.

In December, Twitter started testing a version of Spaces that allows users to have live audio conversations on the platform.

Microsoft and Slack Technologies are also reportedly working to develop platforms with similar features.