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State of the Screens

Why Does Everyone Want In On Clubhouse?

By April 22, 2021No Comments

Clubhouse App Store Screenshot

Big news: Clubhouse is valued at $4B roughly one year after launching.

What is Clubhouse? Clubhouse is an audio-based social app where users host their own radio show.

Key details for Clubhouse:
1) Launched in March 2020
2) 10M+ downloads
3) Invite only
4) iPhone only

Clubhouse valuation history according to Bloomberg:
1) May-20 – $100M
2) Jan-21 – $1B
3) Apr-21 – $4B

Clubhouse user growth according to Backlinko:
1) May-20 – 1.5K
2) Dec-20 – 600K
3) Jan-21 – 2M
4) Feb-21 – 10M

Clubhouse User Growth Over Time

Big question #1: How will Clubhouse make money?

Four primary revenue streams (as of now) for Clubhouse:
1) Cut of admission fee to rooms
2) Membership dues
3) Tips
4) Branded sponsorships for rooms

Smart take: The team at SparrowAdvisors refers to Clubhouse as “the first post-advertising social platform.”

Social Platform Generations

Big question #2: Who are potential competitors?

Potential competitors for Clubhouse:
1) Twitter (Spaces)
2) Facebook (Live Audio Rooms)
3) Slack
4) Discord
5) LinkedIn
6) Spotify

Big question #3: What is the difference between Clubhouse and podcasts?

Quick answer: Clubhouse is live and interactive. It is not hard to see a world where the live show with audience interaction lives on as an on-demand podcast.

Evolution of Audio

Quote from Ben Thompson – Author/Founder @ Stratechery:
“This is not to say that Clubhouse means the doom of podcasts; quite the opposite, in fact. Radio and recordings had a symbiotic relationship: you heard the new song or artist on the radio, and then you bought their record or CD. It is easy to imagine Clubhouse and podcasts having a similar relationship, at least in part; one important difference is that while radio was scarce, by virtue of its dependence on broadcast towers, Clubhouse, thanks to its ease-of-use, will in the long run likely produce far more audio content than the podcast ecosystem. That makes the discovery and recommendation bits noted above particularly important.”

More #1: The Next Phase of Social? Listen Closely

 

More #2: Facebook’s Audio Announcements, Facebook and Creators

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.