Happy Monday! Hope you have a wonderfully productive week planned! Here’s a few marketing and business stories that caught my eye over the last few days:
Spotify has launched its social audio competitor, Greenroom. I haven’t tried out Greenroom yet, but have noticed it’s getting some positive publicity on social media. Two big differences between Greenroom and other social audio apps is that room hosts can turn on Live Chat on Greenroom, and they can also request audio of a room after the session ends. This audio can then be taken and used as a podcast episode, for instance. I do wonder how this will be integrated with the standalone Spotify app, as it seems a natural to use Greenroom as a way for fans of music artists to create rooms to discuss their passion for a particular artist on Greenroom. For instance, if a user listens to three songs in a row by Foster the People, Spotify could put up a popup inviting users to check out rooms created in Greenroom by fans of that band. And let’s be honest, that dark green color scheme is sick, especially compared to the bland whiteness of the Clubhouse app.
Spotify launches its live audio app and Clubhouse rival, Spotify Greenroom https://t.co/nUWAYKRr7q by @sarahintampa
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) June 16, 2021
Apple’s Podcast Subscriptions are now live worldwide in more than 170 countries. Subscriptions give podcast subscribers access to additional material, as well as early access to upcoming episodes in some cases. Apple will get a 30% cut of the revenue from podcast hosts in year one.
Apple Podcasts Subscriptions go live worldwide https://t.co/P6wTMnSuxF by @sarahintampa
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) June 15, 2021
This is another story that’s just going to take on a life of its own in the coming months and years. NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) laws are set to go into effect in several more states on July 1st. These include big-time college football states like Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Texas. NIL laws give college athletes much more freedom to work with brands directly and take on sponsorships. You will be seeing a LOT more brand-oriented content from college athletes, the type of content you really wouldn’t see previously until athletes had exhausted their college eligibility. Kristi has been all over this story for months and her site has all the info on what NIL laws will mean for brands and college athletes.
I've updated my state-by-state tracker to reflect we're now at 19 states with NIL legislation signed into law. At least 4 more are awaiting governor signatures. https://t.co/e6aXsHYsKd
— Kristi Dosh (@SportsBizMiss) June 15, 2021
That’s all for this week! Hope you have a wonderful week, and try to stay cool, Summer is here!