Clubhouse, please don’t end the party

So we saw Clubhouse’s blog post on the 24th of Jan. And then had a quick chat about it, which resulted in this highly opinionated mini-brain dump. It is what it is: an actual blend of our dialogue, with some articling in and around it.

Making people pay to get into a Clubhouse room is very premature. The app is less than a year old and most people only got wind of it towards the end of 2020.

It is a fetus and we hardly even know what it is right now. All we know is that it’s different and it’s cool and monetising it immediately takes that cool factor away because right now, most people can do without it.

It isn’t as addictive as Instagram or Twitter and it doesn’t have mass appeal. Not yet, at least. To quote The Social Network, charging money, no matter how small or insignificant, to get into a Clubhouse room would be like throwing the coolest party on campus and telling everyone it’s got to be over by eleven. Sends it to an early grave.

Paywalls are largely exclusionary, so the tipping option is a lot better. It’s kind of like the tipping option on YouTube live streams. It’ll be a good addition and make listeners feel like they are a part of their favourite creator’s success.

Tipping is emotional. It gives discretionary power to the audience, and freemium models allow for arguably larger audiences which (if the creator does the job) still translates to a payout. But it’s obviously riskier, especially for the platform.

If you say I need to pay $3 to enter a Clubhouse room, for example, that means there must be an opportunity for me to gain a lot from that room. Everything is online, so what are you offering that I should pay for? Are you sharing money? Is it an insightful lecture? Is it a game show where I can win prizes?

And lest we forget, are you sharing money?

This puts a burden on the convener and leads to tinier audiences, less income. Even though there’s instant cash flow. Banter and just vibes now go further down the totem pole, which a lot of Clubhouse is built around, to be frank. That’s why people are there: to be social. Not pay for events.

The longer game is keeping the rooms more accessible. Expanding the community even further. Then adding products and payment options. Plus creators are already making money right now from paid ad placements. I think Clubhouse wants to cash in, but it’s still sooo young. People will just leave.

Especially Nigerians, we already don’t have a lot of purchasing power. The black community is the lifeblood of the app. We no get purchasing power. They even said ticketing. Which I think there’s a place for, on top of free gatherings. Once in a while. Not regularly. If not, Clubhouse may go the way of Quibi. Remember Quibi? No? Ok.

Anyway. What do we know?

Chiemeka & Ruby for Section 13.

We make things.