A new challenger appears.
Facebook is reportedly set to throw its hat to the ring with Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and the rest by launching its own music streaming service.
Music Ally reports that the social networking giant is currently in talks with labels over “the ad-supported monetisation of music videos”, which it will follow-up with a swift kick in the direction of on-demand audio streaming.
In the words of the music rag, which has been in talks with various off-the-record sources in the industry:
“The first phase will see Facebook paying royalties to music rightsholders for plays of their music videos on its service, while also launching a system akin to YouTube’s Content ID to help those rightsholders identify and then either take down or ‘claim’ user-uploaded videos featuring their music…
“It’s Facebook’s plans to build on this with a Spotify-style audio streaming service that are making waves within the music industry, even though the launch date and specifics of the business model and payout formula have yet to be nailed down.”
While it seems like Facebook’s foray into music streaming could still be quite some ways off, Music Ally reports that “talks for the music-video side of things are at an advanced stage, with a rollout expected to happen in the next few months”.
The move come hot on the heels of Apple launching its own juggernaut streaming platform, which got off to a bit of a shaky start, and the launch of artist-owned service Tidal, which has just kind of been shaky all along.
The big question seems to be whether or not Facey will buy an existing streaming service, like it did with messaging app, WhatsApp and photo-sharing app, Instagram, or else build its own from the ground up.
Either way, it looks like the stage is set for a clash of biblical proportions, where the world’s biggest streaming titans will be fighting it out for our love and affection.
