Wander Franco, a Tampa Bay Rays player convicted of sexually abusing a minor, is not a popular topic within the Rays clubhouse, with little discussion about him following his conviction and sentencing.
Triston Casas, a rookie for the Boston Red Sox, has gained respect in the clubhouse for his unconventional pregame routines, including a "grounding" technique of laying shirtless on the field to absorb energy from the Earth. While some veterans initially took issue with his unique approach, they have come to embrace his personality and respect his preparation methods. Casas values open communication and has been vocal about his thoughts and feelings, even addressing potential issues with teammates directly. His confidence, adaptability, and willingness to share his approach and goals have earned him the respect of his teammates. Casas' routines have even piqued the interest of some players, with a few joining him in his pregame rituals.
Clubhouse, the app known for popularizing social audio rooms, is reinventing itself as an audio messaging app with voice-only group chats called "chats." Users can contribute to chats by recording voice messages, creating a voice collage/conversation. The app has been redesigned around these new chats, with a focus on encouraging people to have voice chats with friends rather than broadcasting live to large audiences. Live social audio rooms are still available but are now a bit buried in the app. The revised app is now available on iOS and Android.
San Francisco-based tech companies Dropbox and Clubhouse have announced mass layoffs, with Dropbox cutting 500 employees or 16% of its workforce, and Clubhouse laying off over half of its employees. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston cited the rise of artificial intelligence as a major reason for restructuring, while Clubhouse founders Paul Davison and Rohen Set said the company's current size was hindering communication and coordination. The layoffs add to a brutal week for San Francisco companies, including Gap Inc. and First Republic Bank.
Social audio platform Clubhouse announced it is laying off half its staff to "reset" the company. The company's valuation had reached $4 billion in early 2021, but growth had flattened before a revenue model was ever put in place. The Clubhouse fad evaporated so quickly that the layoffs seemed as if they should've come many months earlier. The founders insist they have enough capital to keep going, and they're working on "Clubhouse 2.0" to be a "better way for all of us to hear our friends' voices, have more meaningful conversations and feel connected to the people around us."
Clubhouse, the audio app that gained popularity during the pandemic, is laying off over 50% of its staff as part of a company "reset." Despite being well-funded, the founders acknowledged that growth came too fast and usage dropped off amid competitors cloning the service and people returning to normal activities. The founders plan to focus on "Clubhouse 2.0" with a smaller, product-focused team, but did not elaborate on what the service may look like going forward. Other live audio services, including Spotify's Greenroom and Reddit Talk, have also struggled.
Clubhouse, the live audio app, is laying off more than half of its employees as co-founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth seek to pare the organization back to a "smaller, product-focused team." The company has raised around $300 million in VC funding and most recently closed a Series C funding round in April 2021 with a16z at a $4 billion valuation. Clubhouse's usage has declined as Covid-related restrictions have been lifted, making it difficult for people to "fit long conversations into their daily lives."
Audio-based social platform Clubhouse is laying off over 50% of its staff due to a slump in user growth as the world opens up post-Covid. Founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth said the layoffs were necessary for efficiency and to focus on a product transition. The company claims it has years of runway remaining and remote work has stymied its ability to evolve. Laid-off workers will receive four months of severance and other departure benefits.
Clubhouse, the audio-only app, is laying off over 50% of its employees as it struggles to stay relevant in a post-Covid world. The co-founders believe a smaller, "product-focused" team will help the app evolve and iterate faster on the details. Clubhouse first emerged as an invite-only app in 2020, but has since faced competition from Twitter Spaces and other audio-only features. The app launched a feature called "Houses" last August to help users make new friends in a more intimate setting.
Spotify Live, the live audio app, is shutting down as the post-pandemic era has not been kind to live audio. The number of monthly active users on Clubhouse has dropped by 82%, and companies that followed in its footsteps have largely abandoned their pursuits. The Obamas' Higher Ground has signed a separate deal with Acast, which will distribute their podcasts across other platforms. iHeart has signed On Purpose with Jay Shetty, a megahit wellness podcast.
Spotify is shutting down its standalone live audio app, Spotify Live, at the end of April as the company turns away from live programming. The audio giant began scaling back its live programming late last year, canceling at least six of its live audio shows created for the Spotify Live app. Select live shows will exist on the main Spotify app as non-live podcasts. The company saw "promising results" from its "listening parties" with artists and fans and will continue exploring ways to move forward in that direction.
Spotify is shutting down its Clubhouse-like feature called Spotify Live, which allowed users to listen to live discussions on the Spotify mobile app. The company plans to continue experimenting with live features within its interface. Spotify Live was launched in April 2022 as a live podcasting feature. The company said it will explore artist-focused use cases like "listening parties" to facilitate live interactions between artists and fans. Spotify has experimented with several features outside of its traditional music offerings, including an AI DJ and a home feed modeled after TikTok.
Spotify is shutting down its live audio app, Spotify Live, as it no longer makes sense as a standalone app. The company will continue to offer live audio in limited ways on the main Spotify app, such as listening parties. Spotify launched the audio-only app in 2021 under the name Greenroom to compete with Clubhouse and even acquired the live audio service Betty Labs for €57 million to help it do so. However, the service struggled to gain traction, leading to its rebranding as Spotify Live and eventual shutdown.