Facebook could be on the verge of revamping its music services, including a standalone music platform, according to news reports. Currently, Facebook users can upload music apps to their profiles pages but they can’t directly share songs and playlists. But now, the firm is expected to announce the launch of its first digital music service at a conference later this month.
14/09/2011
Programming blog Life is a Graph spotted music-related coding in the download link for Facebook Video Chat in early July, fueiliing speculation that the social network would release a music product at its f8 Conference on September 22.
Meanwhile, tech blog Mashable has reported that online music streaming sensation Spotify, along with Rdio and MOG, are likely to offer Facebook music integration.
Meanwhile, digital music expert Mark Mulligan told The Telegraph: “Facebook hasn’t needed to have music properly embedded in its site until now. However, it is trying to be as defensible as possible against any potential Facebook killers which it knows could come along.
“It is now deliberately extending itself to be more than a social network and instead of just being a communications platform – this service will see the site become a social content platform.”
According to The Drum, Facebook is likely to allow user’s to choose tracks regardless of the provider and display their choices in real time on their profile, a process known as “scrobbling”.
Facebook friends will then be able to access the track straight afterwards.
Mulligan added: “Facebook’s music strategy can be summed up with one word: co-existence. It is trying to join the digital dots and become the place where friends connect over music. This is a great opportunity for the site.”