Is Facebook Messenger the mixtape of the future? A new integration with Spotify lets you share songs and playlists from your chat box
Could this be the ultimate listening party for our digital age? Eh, probably not, but you have to admit it’s pretty exciting news that Facebook’s Messenger platform now integrates with Spotify, which means users can share songs and playlists within their chat boxes.
The move is the latest development that has seen Facebook Messenger’s chat box become more than just a conversation, but a whole platform for other things.
For example, in recent months, Uber announced an integration with Messenger that lets US users order rides from within their chat box.
The new Spotify feature is rolling out to iOS and Android users and is the first music integration for Facebook Messenger.
“We’re making it easy for you to let your friends know what music you are loving at any moment,” Facebook said this week.
“While chatting, tap the More tab and then choose Spotify to get started. Or, if a friend sends you a song, just tap ‘Open’ to hop over to Spotify to start listening.
“This is rolling out today and will be available broadly soon,” Facebook said.
The digital mixtape
In the olden days, we used to put together compilations of songs on mixtapes for friends and, so, this new ability to share music and playlists directly to friends on Facebook captures that spirit rather nicely.
Spotify, which has more than 30m paying subscribers, is moving swiftly to maintain a technological lead over rival Apple, which launched its own streaming platform Apple Music last year and which has gained 10m subscribers within just six months.
In recent weeks, it emerged that Spotify has started rolling out a video service on Android devices.
It has also moved its entire cloud infrastructure to Google’s cloud for better flexibility.
It also emerged at the end of January that Spotify acquired Soundwave, an Irish music discovery platform whose technology tracks what songs people are listening to on their smartphones in real-time.
Loving music image via Shutterstock
