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“They are coming up with an improved set of open APIs that will allow any licensed music service to share listening behavior.”
——a music industry source

FACEBOOK FEELING THE MUSIC

900-Pound Gorilla to Enable Full-on Integration With All Manner of Music Services
Up to now, Facebook has essentially been music-agnostic (iLike, anyone?). But that is about to change in a big way, as the social-networking colossus antes up on its recent hook-up with Spotify. According to the N.Y. Post, Facebook is in the process of upgrading its platform to allow not just Spotify but also Rdio, MOG and other services to more fully integrate with the network.

“They are coming up with an improved set of open APIs that will allow any licensed music service to share listening behavior,” said one music industry source.

This new open-door policy signal a major charge by Facebook into the music space, reporters Garett Sloane and Claire Atkinson point out, citing a number of sources with direct knowledge of the plans. But even with its newfound willingness to team with a number of high-profile music services, Spotify will likely take top billing when the new features are unveiled at the developers conference. That’s because rehabilitated Napster co-founder Sean Parker, who’s been with Facebook almost since the beginning (you saw the movie, right?), also is an investor in Spotify.

Facebook members with digital music accounts will be able to listen to music while on the social network and share songs tunes with friends, the sources said. While it’s unclear whether users will be able to buy music subscriptions with Facebook credits, the fact that FB didn’t need to make licensing deals with the labels for this tighter integration with music services suggests that it has no interest in becoming a middle man in transactions.

But even if Facebook doesn’t see a direct financial benefit, the deeper music experience will bring insight into members’ tastes and habits. Facebook is becoming more of a destination for media consumption in general, with movie studios streaming films for rent through the social network.

On top of mining all the data that is relevant for advertisers, Facebook hopes to keep its members in its walled garden. “This will add stickiness and make Facebook a richer experience,” the same source said.

So far, Facebook is being coy about these initiatives. “There’s nothing new to announce,” the company said in a statement yesterday. “Many of the most popular music services around the world are integrated with Facebook, and we’re constantly talking to our partners about ways to improve these integrations.”

But if the sources are on the money, these moves would represent FB’s most comprehensive and coordinated effort to date into the marriage of music and social networking.

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