Facebook enters the music scene

Reuters recently broke the story that Facebook will putting finishing touches to new features on users’ home pages that deeply integrate music services from partners including Spotify, MOG, Rhapsody, Slacker and Rdio, according to people familiar with the plans. The music platform is expected to be unveiled at Facebook’s developer conference, which kicks off on September 22.

Though Facebook is the world’s most popular social networking services with more than 750 million users, its founder Mark Zuckerberg is keen to increase the amount of time users spend in the Facebook environment. Music is said to be just one aspect of the strategy to improve Facebook’s ‘stickiness’ and it is also expected to partner with other media content owners like movie studios.

“They are working on a platform for music where the goal is to create a connective tissue for fans,” said one person familiar with the talks who asked not to be named as the plans are confidential.

Facebook could give an important boost to its fledgling music streaming partners as they try to compete in a digital music sector dominated by Apple Inc’s iTunes’s download store. Apple is also readying a streaming service called iTunes Match expected to launch this fall.

More on this story soon…