Twitter opens up paid 'Ticketed Spaces' audio chats for some users

Months after hopping on the Clubhouse bandwagon, Twitter found a way to monetize it.

Twitter announced Friday that some users on iOS would be able to charge money for Spaces audio chats. That's the feature Twitter launched back in May in response to the Clubhouse zeitgeist — a moment that now feels like ancient history.

Spaces live at the top of the timeline where Fleets used to be before their incredibly horny demise, and they allow people to listen in on live audio broadcasts hosted by people they follow. The paid version of the feature is known as "Ticketed Spaces." Hi, monetization.

While it's limited to select users on iOS for now, Twitter's announcement said in no uncertain terms Ticketed Spaces will come to everyone at some point.

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Twitter opened applications for Ticketed Spaces back in June, as it started outlining a slew of ways for users to get paid for their posting efforts. It doesn't seem like the company is placing extreme limits on what can happen in Ticketed Spaces, but the application page mentioned workshops and meet & greets with fans as possible uses for the feature.

For Twitter-based influencers, it could be an easy way to earn some cash for the mere act of engaging with an audience they may have spent a decade or more building without much monetary return until now. Though they may face a tough sell in an online space where users often say outright, with mock incredulity: "This website is free."

As someone who has posted incessantly for years purely for the love of the game, I won't judge anyone who choose to use, or ignore, this feature.