Audio chat platform Clubhouse opens up for everyone

Ending an invitation-only mode, social audio platform Clubhouse has opened its virtual rooms to all comers. Anyone could join using smartphones powered by Apple or Google-backed Android software, said Clubhouse which did away with its waiting list.

Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, the founders of the popular audio chat forum, said, “We’re thrilled to share that Clubhouse is now out of beta, open to everyone, and ready to begin its next chapter.”

“Everyone in the world should have access to meaningful conversations,” they said in a blog post.

Clubhouse made its debut a year ago and has grown to hosting half a million “rooms” daily, with the average listener spending more than an hour a day in the online community, as per the founders. Davison and Seth said, “We suspect there will be many more ups and downs as we scale, and competition from the large networks will be fierce.”

According to AppMagic, Clubhouse has been downloaded over 18 million times since December.

Interestingly, Twitter also jumped into the live audio sector by launching Spaces in December and Facebook came up with Live Audio Rooms.

Swedish online music streaming platform Spotify last month launched a live audio app called Greenroom, which is akin to Clubhouse.

If reports are to be believed, these platforms also have to compete with Discord, which has been offering live audio since 2015 and has more than 140 million users.