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Spotify buys Locker Room app's maker Betty Labs

Spotify is pushing further ahead into live audio programming by acquiring Betty Labs, the company behind the sports-focused social audio app Locker Room.

The deal was announced Tuesday without financial terms.

Locker Room, which just launched in October, rocketed in popularity for sports fans looking for a place to chat and hold watch parties during the health crisis, building on a trend of new live voice-based platforms such as the invite-only social app Clubhouse.

Spotify said it will build on Locker Room's rapid success by expanding the service to offer sports, music, and cultural programming...as well as live discussions with professional athletes, musicians and other personalities. Spotify said it will make the content available to “hundreds of millions of listeners and millions of creators on our platform.”

Tuesday's purchase by Spotify adds to its expansion beyond the streaming music service that launched the brand in 2008 . It has spent millions of dollars to make a splash in the podcasting world, including the debut of a podcast advertising marketplace - as streaming music becomes a crowded space.