Your Facebook News Feed is about to get more musical
Check what your friends are jamming to without leaving Facebook
Update: Facebook has now confirmed to techradar that an Android and desktop version will eventually be released - but there's no time frame just yet.
Facebook announced a new way to share your Number One jams on your iPhone today in the form of Music Stories. The new feature, built for the iOS Facebook application, will allow you to post songs and artists to your News Feed with an added preview function and shortcuts to buy or stream music.
"People find out about [music] from artists and friends alike, and they love to share their discoveries," said Director of Product Michael Cerda in a statement. "Today we are enabling better music discovery and sharing on Facebook."
Once implemented, Music Stories allows Facebook users to stream a 30-second preview of a song posted from Spotify, iTunes or Apple Music. From there, a song can be purchased or streamed in full, depending on which service is providing the music, without leaving the News Feed.
Facebook has plans for expanding Music Stories to other platforms, including Android. However, Apple Music and iTunes functionality will almost certainly be absent in those versions. There is also talk of expanding to other music services, but specifics haven't been nailed down at this time.
This news comes a day after a rumor surfaced of Facebook launching its standalone news app soon, indicating progress in the social media giant's plan to be a one-stop shop for online consumption. Unimpeded access to music was also a key element with Google's recent debut of YouTube Red, which allows users to stream tunes in the background via a choice of ad-free videos or an included subscription to Google Play Music.
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