Spotify Announces Integration into Facebook

If by now you haven't heard about Spotify, you must be living in a cardboard box or... no, no, I'm pretty sure even my homeless friend Robert has heard of Spotify (he has an MP3 player, oddly enough). Spotify is rapidly becoming one of the most popular ways to stream on-demand music anytime, anywhere. It's been overseas for quite some time, but hit the states this year and is really drumming up a serious amount of interest. So what's next? Facebook, apparently. Spotify knows that music is about the most social media there is, so they are jumping in with the social media giant - so much so that Mark Zuckerberg asked Spotify to showcase their new social experience at the f8 conference in San Francisco. Check out what Spotify has done to integrate music and Facebook in a way we hadn't yet seen:

The upside - or downside, depending on your point of view - is that you'll begin to see "music" posts and "play" buttons all over your news feeds. You'll be able to play music right there in the Facebook feed. You can then check out your new Music Dashboard and your real-time ticker to discover the music that's trending with your friends. The point of all of this seems to be 'new music discovery'.

We have to admit - we kind of like this idea. I have a lot of friends whose opinions I truly value. Being able to see and hear what music they are listening to will fundamentally change the way I am exposed to new music. If a YouTube video, news report, or email can "make the rounds" of social media - why not music? This is a fantastic opportunity if done correctly.