Spotify Teams Up with Facebook, We're Still Waiting on the US Launch
posted Sunday Jun 5, 2011 by Nicholas DiMeo
Spotify has shacked up with Facebook in a move that could launch a Facebook integrated music-streaming service on the social network in as little as two weeks. Word has it that the service is currently undergoing heavy testing, but once it goes live, Facebook's users in Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK will see the green Spotify logo along the left of their newsfeed, with the familiar photos and events pages as well.
Why just those countries? Well, as we know, Spotify has yet to launch in the US, despite the deal signings with Sony and EMI. Warner has still not come to their senses and Universal hasn't been talking to the European-based streaming service very much. However, negotiations are continuing and Spotify is trying to surround the US by getting in with its popular websites in hopes that the attention will give them some deals. For now, the service on Facebook will only be available in areas where Spotify exists, and there's still no word on whether it will be called Facebook Music or Spotify on Facebook.
However, there's still more to discuss on the Facebook front. Click the break to see how this partnership will play out.
When a user logs onto Facebook and goes to the Spotify service, clicking on the Spotify logo will allow them to install the streaming music service right to their desktop in the background, so they can play the massive library of songs through Facebook. Reports even say that there will be an ability to have friends listen to music simultaneously with you.
Facebook and Spotify already have a mild relationship, as the green music giant had Facebook Connect playing nice with its own desktop software, so users can show their friends what music is playing. Facebook's platform should show similar features upon launch.
Okay, so the basis behind the idea makes sense. Facebook already has a stranglehold on social web games like FarmVille and is trying to use their strength with partners like Warner, that now allow users to pay for movies with Facebook Credits. With Spotify getting in with the beast that cannot be fed, they hope to finally turn the corner on not only the number of users, but on how many of them are actually paying for the service, an issue that has been plaguing this company from the start.
However, there's a couple of things going on here that irritate me. First, it's Facebook. Whether you love the service or not, there is always something that each and every person finds annoying or broken on Facebook. I've yet to even log on to any Zynga game, and I will even go as far as to block each and every FarmVille and Mafia Wars update that dare pass through my news feed. I hold the term "news" near and dear to my heart, for updates from good companies like Microsoft and SiriusXM, and I'm sorry, but finding your 651st black cat on your farm simply doesn't match the profile for me.
Secondly, as I said, Facebook is broken. From browser incompatibility to the incompetency that runs rampant through their so-called software "developers", there is always something wrong on the network. So far, Warner has been scratching its head trying to find out why some users can't even pay for a movie on Facebook, so how on earth will a company that is pretty much hoping on this to work feel if the system simply doesn't work for weeks on end? I have high hopes for Spotify but I feel that placing that much trust into Facebook may end up having the inverse affect the company is hoping for.
I don't know, maybe I'm a little jaded, as Facebook may not be around much longer. I understand trying to hit the social market, but there are still millions of people who don't mind going around to their favorite sites to consume any content they're looking for. Checking out my latest Office episode I missed would never happen through Facebook and if they ever integrated an RSS feed, I'd stay as far away from it as possible.
