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Rumor: Facebook launching music service in late September with Spotify, MOG and Rdio

facebook music via slashgearFacebook’s been working hard at making the social network site a one-stop-shop; games already run amok, Miramax recently began offering streaming movies and soon we may see that Facebook music platform we’ve been hearing rumors about.

Mashable reports that Facebook’s music and media platform will be announced September 22 in San Francisco, coinciding with the f8 developer conference. The three launch partners on-board with the service will include Spotify of course, as well as MOG and Rdio. It’s likely that more third-party developers will get a crack at the music platform in time.

“There’s nothing new to announce,” A spokesperson said in response to reports of Facebook’s music platform. “Many of the most popular music services around the world are integrated with Facebook and we’re constantly talking to our partners about ways to improve these integrations.”

Spotify representatives declined to comment on the rumor.

Facebook users can already publish activity, and share playlists from the three launch services, however, that’s not the same as being able to listen to the music using Facebook. The three services all offer free music, with unlimited streaming for a montly fee. Facebook’s 750 million user base could mean a lot both to third-party music services, music publishers and musicians.

The new music platform will contrast the cloud music service of Google and Amazon and Apple where users upload music to listen. Facebook’s plan hopes to mirror its social gaming success; instead of streaming or directly hosting, the company will become a platform for content just like the Zynga games. It’s great for Facebook as it won’t have to worry about licensing. The music will be delivered through through a third-party, with perhaps a media player within Facebook, and require users to log in to their accounts—allowing friends to listen to each others playlists.

In July, rumors about the music service were strengthened when a programmer found evidence of a music application called Vibes within the Skype install code.

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Jeff Hughes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.
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