New York — Users of popular social media service could soon be able to listen Spotify inside Facebook, as the two companies have reportedly endorsed a music-streaming pact that could see the cloud-based music service arrive on the profile pages of millions, which could debut in as little as two weeks, according to reports from sources close to the deal.
According to Forbes, “The integrated service is currently being experimented, but when launched, Facebook users will see Spotify’s icon appear on the left-hand side of their newsfeed, along with other usual icons for photos and events.”
Reports also indicates that the service could be unleashed onto Facebook audiences in as little as two weeks. And as you click on the image, the service will be installed on your desktop, enabling you to listen to Spotify’s catalog via Facebook. Users will also be able to listen to music with friends via Facebook.
One disadvantage, though, should this service come to pass: Facebook and Spotify setup will only exist in countries where it is presently available.
“The reward to the industry would appear via monthly subscriptions for premium access to streaming Web sites or from buying CDs or downloads of the music they uncover and assemble on sites like Spotify,” according to Reuters, which was filled about the deal by Spotify board member and Facebook friend Sean Parker.
Surprisingly, Spotify has somewhat conceivably agreed to the deal for free, taking nothing from Facebook’s abundant ad revenue. In return, it gains access to just about the largest potential audience base imaginable and plentiful victims for their ten pound per-month premium option. Better still, if Spotify were to take the US plunge it would pretty much squash MySpace overnight.
According to Forbes, quoting a Spotify spokesperson who claimed not to know about the new music deal with Facebook. “We have a Facebook integration. We are continuously working with them to make that as good as it can be. But that is the extent of our relationship,” the spokesperson said.
Spotify informed us that it carries on to work with Facebook on its unification, but did not confirm the rumor of a partnership.
“We have a good relationship with Facebook in that we have done an integration on Facebook Platform that has been valuable in terms of driving engagement with the Spotify service,” Mashable, quoted a Spotify spokesperson, referring to the music streaming service’s use of Facebook Connect. “We are constantly working together to make the social experience on Spotify the best it can be and welcome relationships with any company looking to innovate by building more social value into the user experience.”
Moreover, a proper announcement of formal partnership appears to be the logical extension of this, bringing all the music of Spotify directly into Facebook’s website itself.
However, more exhilarating still is the ability to not only play Spotify through Facebook but also to distribute and listen to music simultaneously with friends. Gone are the days of YouTube link posting on friends Facebook walls, now you will be able to subject your friends to the music no one else likes via the world’s most popular social media site.
Nevertheless, Facebook’s presence as a media hub keeps on advancing, first with movies and now the Spotify connection. It remains to be seen whether or not the on-site streaming will create its own version of ‘myspace famous’ celebs, but it certainly would not hurt some of the smaller bands currently struggling with Facebook’s music setup.