Yet, the phenomenon of live audio broadcasting gained popularity during the pandemic, primarily thanks to Clubhouse. This feature attracted the attention of other technology companies to create tools that made live audio become one of the many social media features that companies compete to have.
LinkedIn Ends Standalone Live Audio Events
But more interest for live audio did not stay for too long. When the unique events and dwelling situations began to stabilize, people stopped devoting much time to long audio conversations, and thus the format went somewhat out of style. The platforms that have launched its live audio events in 2022 and even they have shut it down, including LinkedIn.
The National Equity Alliance reported that beginning December 2, 2024, LinkedIn will no longer host standalone live audio events. Any previously set audio events will also be not allowed after the end of the year, that is 31 December. This platform aims to integrate audio events into the so-called “LinkedIn Live,” which is currently available for live video.
While every other audio event can be hosted and managed within the platform, LinkedIn Live has external tools for broadcasting, so the level of complexity is higher for the users. However, retaining live audio as technically possible this erases a lot of potential for that utility and convenience for professional users with the platform.
LinkedIn is heading the same route as others that include Facebook, Spotify, and Reddit, which have all dumped their live audio ventures. That very same focus has become a concern even for Clubhouse, the platform that started this tradition. While there may be some challenges with the spontaneity, live audio still persists on such apps such as the X (formerly twitter). in a more or less manner.
LinkedIn Phases Out Standalone Audio Events
Linkedin has recently declared it’s going to pull the plug on standalone live audio events by December 2024. New events cannot be created from the App starting December 2; existing events will not function at all come December 31.
It also points to LinkedIn’s efforts to add more audio elements into its current live streaming product, “LinkedIn Live.” While this change is supposed to help simplify what it has on the table to users, it also adds more confusion to those who used to rely on separate audio tools.
While decisions such as daily audiocasts or weekly audiocasts may be accomplished using standalone audio streaming applications, LinkedIn Live is less convenient for users because the program has to be connected to external applications to host events. However, there will be audio along with each video within the said platform; but the use of audio functionality will require technical skills to perform it.
LinkedIn’s decision is not isolated; it is a trend that has characterised the social media industry of late. Similarly, other apps like Facebook, Reddit, and Spotify have also axed live audio functionalities after the COVID-19 boosted the demand temporary. This is equally surprising widely embraced, especially in telecommunication networks Clubhouse, the founder of live audio has also downsized its activities.
While some are adapting due to user behaviors, live audio as a feature still is only offered in some capacity on others, such as X (previously Twitter). LinkedIn making changes for features that are closer to its professional networking platform, indicates that standalone live audio has had its time.
The Decline of Live Audio Across Platforms
LinkedIn’s decision to retire its dep farther stand-alone live audio events is not unique in the industry. Frequently called live audio or live voice, it seems to have lost its appeal among many platforms that experimented with it during the pandemic.
Reddit, Facebook, Spotify and Amazon among others have all discontinued the LIVE AUDIO feature in the recent past. Some of these companies realised that their format’s early adoption was followed by a decline because people went back to their regular lifestyle before COVID-19, with no time for more elaborate live audio interactions.
Not even Clubhouse, the application which original niche was live audio and became a darling of the pandemic, is immune to the shift. The decreased sales last year indicated the increasingly limited need for organisations and companies to collaborate within an audio focused environment.
However, live audio has by no means been eradicated,’ So, though it continues to shrink, streaming live audio in some manner is still a present reality. Currently, all the live audio features are still available on X (which used to be Twitter), but users were often unable to access them due to occasional technical glitches. It exists on X to prove that despite the fact that their heyday is behind them, there are still uses for such a format out there.
The fact that the industry is lowering its reliance on live audio is a clear testament to how fast everything in the tech world turns either hot or not. In the case of LinkedIn for instance, it is a deliberate change tact as a way of shifting away from the ephemeral concept of live audio streams, something that does not define the users well enough.
