Rumors have emerged that Facebook is partnering with streaming music company Spotify to integrate the service into the Facebook platform in Europe.
According to Forbes, Spotify will have an icon to the left of the Facebook news feed with photos and events. Clicking on the icon will download the Spotify desktop client and allow users to listen to music with their Facebook friends, a source told Forbes. The service will only be available to Facebook users in locations where Spotify has a presence meaning only the major countries in Europe at this time.
Spotify has been looking to launch in the United States and has reportedly been talking with the big four music labels. Along the way, lots of rumors have surfaced around Spotify in the U.S.: It has been talking with Google, it would need to shutdown its European service, it was coming in the third quarter … last year, it has an iPhone app approved by the FCC, it has inked a deal with Sony, it will use a freemium service model in the states.
Now it is rumored to be officially partnering with Facebook. What is next, Spotify in the space shuttle? Well, it would have to be a European space shuttle.
Any Dance Partners Left
If Spotify is jumping into Facebook as a feature on the platform, does that mean they are not in talks with Google anymore? Facebook could open up Spotify to millions of users who could be converted to paying subscribers (its free option limits users to 10 hours a month). Forbes says that there will be no financial terms in the relationship. Social gaming platform Zynga, of FarmVille fame, has done well partnering with Facebook and that is likely the model that Spotify hopes to replicate.
The music streaming market is rapidly filling up. Independent services such as Rdio, Pandora and MOG have significant user bases. The large tech companies are getting into the space. Google released Google Music in beta earlier this month, Apple is rumored to be unleashing a cloud music service at its World Wide Developers Conference in June and Amazon pushed out its Cloud Drive locker earlier this year. All this activity leaves Spotify in a tough spot. Can it launch to any success in the U.S. without a partner? Then, other than Facebook (if the Google talks are truly done), who else is left?
