Apple Music to face new competition from Facebook

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Apple-Music-iPhone
Apple Music is about to get some new competition.
Photo: Apple

Spotify and Apple Music are now the two major players in the battle for music streaming supremacy, but if Facebook has its way the world’s most popular social network may also become the best place to discover and listen to tunes.

Facebook is in early talks with record labels to develop a music streaming service of its own, according to a new report that claims the social network has some bold plans for the future of music.

Music Ally reports that while Facebook is planning to make a major push to monetize music videos shared on the site, the company also wants to build an on-demand audio streaming layer ontop of it once it nails video monetization.

While Facebook could (and maybe should) just buy a streaming service like Rdio, which already boasts a number of great social features and a UI that’s arguably better than Apple Music and Spotify, Music Ally’s sources say Facebook is more keen to build rather than buy their way into music streaming.

The launch data and specifics of the audio-streaming service’s business model and payout formula haven’t been nailed down yet. The service would also need to figure out a plan to differentiate itself from Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and Pandora, other than just being really social. May we suggest getting Justin Timberlake to do a show in the guise of Sean Parker, a la The Social Network? We’d tune in for that.

Update: Facebook is denying Music Ally’s report that it wants to take on Apple Music. Micah Singleton at the Verge got in touch with a Facebook spokesperson who said the company has “no plans to go into music streaming.”

Source: Music Ally

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