Exclusive | Lizhi, China’s second-largest podcast app, has its own Clubhouse, but only for users outside the Great Firewall
- As the popularity of Clubhouse has risen, so has demand for other audio apps like those from Lizhi, which has seen its shares rise nearly fourfold this month
- Lizhi’s Clubhouse-like app Tiya only operates overseas after its first social audio app was removed by Chinese regulators
Amid surging popularity for the hit audio-focused social media app Clubhouse, the founder of Chinese company Lizhi, behind the country’s second-largest podcast app, sees an opportunity overseas for its own audio chat app Tiya, even as censors at home have cracked down on the US audio platform.
Lizhi founder and CEO Marco Lai Jinnan said in an interview with the South China Morning Post that Clubhouse-like apps are unlikely to succeed in China because of the country’s strict content regulations, but he believes Chinese companies are still well-positioned to capitalise the new social audio app craze in other countries.
“It will be very difficult to create a Clubhouse-like app in China. The form of Clubhouse will most likely be altered in China,” Lai said. “The regulatory environments are different, content safety requirements are also quite different. So it’s hard to just replicate its existing form.”
