California giant Meta, formerly a Facebook Group, is dropping its huge ambitions for audio on its platforms. The podcast service, as well as Soundbites and Live Audio Rooms are preparing to disconnect to “simplify” its hearing offer, according to reports from the Bloomberg agency.
Observe the changes this week for users of the podcast service, who will no longer be able to add new shows. They will also be completely removed from Facebook starting June 3rd.
The time has come on April 28 for Soundbites, this tool for cutting small shareable audio extracts, as read on a Meta info page.
Live Audio Rooms, Facebook’s response to the rising popularity of the social network Clubhouse in 2021, based on oral conversation, will be included. in the coming weeks with the neat Facebook Live feature.
The metaverse, a priority
According to Bloomberg, the first to report the news, Facebook likes focus on the most meaningful experiences. However, a company spokesman told the agency in mid -April that the audio services were well received by the public.
Sources told Bloomberg, however, that the giant seems more interested in the metaverse and shopping in discussions with podcast producers. Facebook has never hidden its ambitions for virtual and augmented reality.
It should also be said that interest in the Clubhouse platform, which experienced a trend in 2021, seems to be running out, and the TikTok video application is even more threatening for Meta.
Competition is fierce in the audio arena, with other podcast giants like Apple and Spotify in the ring. The latter also launched its own audio lounges with Greenroom, recently renamed Spotify Live. Other big names on social networks also invested in this market last year, including Twitter with Spaces, and Reddit with Talk.
Source: Radio-Canada
