Facebook Messenger is getting into the music-sharing game, thanks to Spotify and Apple Music.
Facebook has announced that Spotify and Apple Music will both be integrated into Messenger, allowing users to share playable links to songs, albums, and playlists directly in-app. This integration is part of Facebook’s new Chat Extensions for its Messenger Platform, first unveiled at the F8 developer conference.
According to Spotify, users will be able to search the catalog from the Messenger app, which will also surface their recently played music. Once a song link in shared, recipients will be able to play a 30-second clip. They will have to go to the main Spotify app to listen to the full song.
Apple has not disclosed how the Apple Music integration will work, but it’s safe to assume that it will be something similar to Spotify. Facebook will begin rolling out the integrations “very soon.”
In addition, Spotify has created a Messenger bot that will give users playlist recommendations based on their mood, activity, or genre.
Why this matters: When Apple turned iMessage into a platform for third-party apps, it integrated with Apple Music because duh. But Apple is also open to outside platforms—first with the release of an Android app, and now Facebook Messenger support. This allows as many people as possible to discover and sign up for Apple Music.
However, no amount of third-party integrations will change the fact that both Spotify and Apple Music are still closed ecosystems. If people really want to share music on Messenger or any other messaging app, they’re still better served sending a YouTube or SoundCloud link, which doesn’t require a membership and plays longer than 30 seconds.
Author: Oscar Raymundo, Staff Writer
Oscar writes about iOS, mobile culture and digital music. He also hosts 'The iPhone Show' from Macworld's San Francisco HQ.