Mashable is reporting (via NY Post) that Facebook is planning to get into the online music game
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The long-standing rumor that Facebook will launch its own digital music service is back in the news today. According to The New York Post, the social network is in talks with a number of existing players in the online music space regarding what the paper calls an “outsourcing deal.” As opposed to MySpace, who forged a deal with the four major record labels to launch its own digital music venture last month, Facebook already plays hosts to a number of popular music apps on its site. With more than 5 million active users, iLike is by far the most popular, with other apps like imeem, Pandora, and My Music (by Qloud) with user counts in the low six-figures.
As I blogged about earlier, at this point the field is getting quite crowded with digital music services, and when MySpace (a former music industry game changer that helped to launch careers) is no longer bringing anything new to the table, what the heck can Facebook do? But Mashable’s right, there is too much potential revenue in this for Facebook to ignore and the joint venture aspect of Facebook’s approach is something that would actually bring something of value to both the consumer and to the start-ups. As a Facebook user, I am very much looking froward to what this might offer. Honestly, though, I do wonder why so many of these start-ups and large online companies are focusing on the consumer so much, when there is so much opportunity found among the ashes of the music industry. I think an application like Bandcamp (making it possible for musicians to distribute and market their own stuff) is the realm social media start-ups can really innovate can create something brand new. At least that’s what I’d do if I had a few million dollars to throw at a start-up.
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