To this point, sharing music on Facebook has been spotty. You could post a YouTube clip of a song you like if you wanted your friends to actually hear it, or more likely just connect with Spotify to let your friends and acquaintances follow your every aural obsession, bouncing them to Spotify if they wanted to listen along. Starting today, though, you'll be able to share, you know, actual songs. Well, parts of them, anyway.
Users of Facebook's iOS app will now have the option to create an entirely new type of post, called a Music Story, which lets friends listen to a 30-second clip of a song streamed from either Apple Music or Spotify. Like a song you find in your stream? You'll have the option to either save it to your own Apple Music/Spotify collection, or to buy it outright.
Music represents yet another frontier for Facebook, which has previously invested heavily in video and fast-loading Instant Articles to boost engagement. Being able to give people song samples and to let them save or buy those songs, all without leaving the app, should help capture some of that attention. And if you're not a Spotify or Apple Music user, fear not; more music services should be added soon. If you're an audio-inclined Android fan, well, the future's a little murkier, but expect Music Stories to trickle down eventually, especially if it's a hit.
