Spotify quietly shuts down Greenroom creator fund

Spotify is shutting down its live audio app creator fund without much fanfare, the company told applicants in an email on Monday. Greenroom (now called Spotify Live) launched last June as a Clubhouse competitor, where users stream live conversations with celebrities, influencers, and other creators. The fund, announced in tandem with the live audio app, was meant to lure in creators through weekly payouts based on performance.

In an email obtained by The Verge, Spotify tells people who had registered to the fund that the program would not be moving forward. “We plan to shift toward other initiatives for live creators,” the company writes. Spotify didn’t offer an explanation for the change in plans and did not immediately respond on the record to a request for comment.

It’s not clear whether the fund ever officially launched or if anyone was paid through it. As spotted by Podnews, the webpage said registration was open for participation and that payments would begin “later this summer” in June 2021. But, earlier this month, the same page was promising payments would begin in 2022, suggesting payouts hadn’t started yet, according to the Wayback Machine. The company did not respond to questions about how much it had paid creators through the fund.

Though the creator fund is no more, Spotify continues to invest in live audio and has made it more easily accessible to listeners. On April 12th, the company announced Greenroom’s name change to Spotify Live while rolling its livestreaming feature into the Spotify app (in addition to having a standalone app). A slate of exclusive programming includes shows with celebrities like Hasan Minhaj, Swedish House Mafia, and DJ Akademiks.