Facebook, Spotify team up to allow in-app music listening
FILE PHOTO: The Spotify logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
NEW YORK: Facebook is expanding its partnership with Spotify to create a mechanism for listening to full songs within the social network, which recently has been turning its attention to audio offerings.
The move started on Monday (Apr 26) in 27 markets. Paying Spotify subscribers are now able to listen to audio content, including full music tracks and podcasts, on Facebook, using a miniplayer to allow continued scrolling within the networking app.
The new integration is rolling out in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, Uruguay, and the US.
"We’re looking forward to introducing this experience to more markets over the coming months," said Spotify.
Facebook called the move a "natural next step" in its relationship with Spotify. In 2019, the companies made a deal to allow short music clips from Spotify to be posted on Facebook Stories.
READ: Spotify buys Locker Room app's maker Betty Labs in live audio push
The announcement comes a week after Facebook said it was adding podcasts and "live audio rooms" as it faces competition from the fast-growing audio-based app Clubhouse.
More than 170 million people are connected to Facebook pages centred on podcasts, and about 35 million users are members of podcast fan groups, but before now listening to one required leaving the social network.
Facebook also planned to begin testing Live Audio Rooms and expects the feature to be available to all users by the middle of this year.
