As Clubhouse downloads plummet, clones hope they can convince users that audio is the future

Is the cachet of joining Clubhouse waning? New data suggest that after a sharp spike in February to 9.6 million downloads, the peak may already be over. The audio platform is down to around 900,000 downloads worldwide for the month of April, according to Sensor Tower, a company that offers intelligence on the “app economy.” The firm still gives Clubhouse an A+ grade overall, factoring in visibility and internationality. However, the competition is coming in hard on Clubhouse’s heels.

Twitter just officially launched Spaces, its audio platform, to users with more than 600 followers, correctly pointing out that the audience is built in. “People already come to Twitter to talk about what’s happening,” the company said in a blog post. “You’ve always followed people for their Tweets, now Spaces lets you hear their voices and talk about what’s happening now and what’s most important to you—live.”

Although there isn’t specific data to show how many users that is, overall Twitter had 192 million monetizable daily active users in the fourth quarter of last year.

Facebook is also jumping on the Clubhouse clone bandwagon, hoping to entice a segment of its massive user base with plans to roll out not one but multiple audio products. These include Hotline, a web-based Q&A application that functions like a combination of Instagram and Clubhouse. There will also be Live Audio Rooms aimed at letting people listen and participate in live conversations à la Clubhouse.

Not to be outdone, Reddit will offer its community Reddit Talk, a similar gambit betting that existing users will flock to a new feature rather than download a whole new app.