Clubhouse is a $1 billion business with 2 million weekly active users (as of Jan 2021).
Despite the exploding user count, it appears to have zero revenue now.
Clubhouse mentioned three business model: tipping, tickets and subscriptions (therefore, no ads – good!).
1/ tipping – it’s an established model in Asia but don’t think it will work well in the US. If rolled out, it will be on a smaller scale and shouldn’t be the main source of revenue, unless it incorporates cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin!
2/ tickets – I think this can work but it’s not sexy. It makes the app more “administrative” and ordinary. Also, eventbrite works well with some 2.5%+ fees.
3/ subscriptions – this sounds interesting and may leapfrog podcast subscription model. Another layer of curation can be added, which Clubhouse might have been working on).
Clubhouse may also think about adding features to be more relevant on a daily basis, than monetizing the app right now.
Spotify management should be worried.
Social medias should be worried too.