Facebook is due to announce a partnership with online music services Spotify, Mog and Rhapsody, a move that is set to make it “more than a social network” according to one analyst.

The renewed focus on music services, due to be revealed at this month’s f8 conference, will rely on its partner services to make music a renewed priority. Unlike competitors like MySpace and Last.fm, however, Facebook has the platform to take the social aspect of music sharing “much further” than seen before, reckons Mark Mulligan, a leading independent digital music analyst.

“If it gets it right, it has the opportunity to become the universal music dashboard for the majority of people online,” Mulligan told the Telegraph.

Facebook already allows musicians to create their own pages to upload music to, as well as sharing updates and communicating with fans. This new venture will see the social network apply lessons learned with games and applications to differentiate itself from the likes of MySpace.

Licensing issues have long been the biggest stumbling block for online music streaming services, but Facebook is set to turn that issue to its advantage by allowing users to listen to a track from any of the partner services, regardless of memberships. For example, a person listening to a track on Spotify can have that information published on their Facebook page, where friends will be able to listen to the track from within the profile page of the original listener.

It is an example of “co-existence” according to Mulligan. “Facebook is trying to join the digital dots and become the place where friends connect over music. MySpace is pretty much dead in the water and the puff went out of Last.fm round about the time CBS acquired it. This is a great opportunity for the site.”

With 750 million registered users to its name, the Facebook team are hoping to corner yet another market.

(Source: The Telegraph)

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