Move over TikTok, there’s a new music app in town…and it just might have a very familiar face. Enter Facebook Music.
Facebook just announced several new ways for users to incorporate music on their platform. Instead of launching an audio streaming player like Apple Music or Spotify, the social media giant just introduced a new music strategy that allows for amplifying profiles with licensed music.
No, it won’t show what you are listening to in real-time, but you can choose a song that expresses who you are and add it to your profile.
Another cool feature is the ability to add music stickers to one’s Facebook Story. Simply take a photo or video from your camera roll, tap on the sticker icon and select the music sticker. Once you find the song you want to add, pick the part you want to share and add the sticker with the artist and song name. Move the sticker around and add other stickers and effects to customize your story.
Tamara Hrivnak, Facebook’s Head of Music Business Development and Partnerships said in a statement, “People are using Stickers as a soundtrack to their everyday moments, and artists are using them both to tease new releases in pre-release phase – an exclusive glimpse at a coming track – and also to promote projects that they’re working on.”
A more interactive and fun tool is Lip Sync Live. This allows for lip-syncing along with your favorite song and share the video with your friends. An even cooler feature — you can put the show on in real-time with the Facebook Live feature.
To do this, Facebook is making the most of its licensing deals with Sony, Warner Bros and Universal Music Group. This is Facebook’s first major step into music, allowing the company to go directly up against YouTube.
Artists are taking note. These features allow them to better communicate with their fans while promoting their music. Artists who currently use Instagram and Facebook to unofficially release music videos, can pre-release stickers of song teasers, even using Lip Sync Live as a way to connect with fans. It’s a win-win for artists and users.
Hrivnak commented, “What has gotten lost in the evolution of music to digital is the ability for artists to tell their stories outside of their music, to connect the tracks on an album together, and to connect with fans. We’re seeking to fill that gap, which we think is an important opportunity both for artists and for people. That’s our main goal.”
Facebook is jumping headfirst into the music game and it’s about time. So if you’re in the mood to harness your inner rockstar and battle it on with a friend on Lip Sync Live, you might just have a shot at going viral.
Facebook Music: Sources
Music Business Worldwide: What’s Facebook’s Game Plan in Music