Audio streaming giant Spotify is reportedly set to acquire Heardle, a Wordle-inspired music recognition trivia game, for an undisclosed amount. The deal will enable Spotify to increase the app’s interactivity as the company invests in podcasts, livestreaming, and video to create different revenue channels.

The announcement comes a month after CEO Daniel Ek quoted during the company’s investor day that the firm is emphasizing in-app music discovery to increase the user base and app engagement.

For the unversed, Heardle asks users, once every day, to guess a song by listening to its opening notes. Players have six chances to identify the song, with each hint providing players some time to help with their guess.

This model has been previously implemented on Wordle, the word guessing trivia game that was purchased by The New York Times in January.

Although Spotify is buying the platform, it will continue to function as an independent game on its website, which can be accessed by players for free. One potential change could be that following the takeover, players would be able to listen to the entire song on Spotify once it is identified.

The game is now available in the UK, U.S., Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. The company also has plans to introduce the game across more markets in the future.

Spotify is looking to consolidate interactive experiences like Heardle completely into the platform to enable music fans to challenge friends and establish a deeper connection with artists.

Earlier this year, Spotify also partnered with Red Bull Batalla, the largest Spanish freestyle competition, to deliver a comprehensive listening experience through rap battles in audio format, playlists, podcasts, and more.

In the official playlist of the Red Bull Batalla, fans will find popular rap songs from successful rappers and some exciting tracks from the ongoing tournament.

Furthermore, fans can follow their favorite rappers from the national finals of the United States, Central America, Uruguay, Spain, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/12/spotify-buying-heardle-the-a-wordle-inspired-music-game.html