Facebook deny reports they are to launch music streaming service

Reports had suggested that social networking platform could grow to include music player

A spokesperson for Facebook has denied that the company are looking to launch a music streaming platform similar to Spotify or Apple Music.

It was reported that the company was currently in talks with labels over the ad-supported monetisation of music videos, with one report claiming that this would lead to the launch of an on-demand audio service.

The music video plans were said to be “at an advanced stage, with a rollout expected to happen in the next few months”, but the launch date and business model of the streaming service have “yet to be nailed down”.

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However, a spokesperson for Facebook has refuted this and confirmed to Billboard that they have “no plans to go into music streaming”.

NMEPress

Additionally, a source at one major label confirmed that they had not held any discussions with Facebook about an on-demand streaming service, expressing their surprise at the initial reports. However, another source did claim that Facebook has expressed interest in some type of music integration into its platform.

Meanwhile, music streaming in the UK has reached a record high, with new figures showing an 80 per cent increase from last year.

New statistics published by the British Phonographic Industry register 11.5 billion track streams in the first six months of 2015, compared to 14.8 billion for the whole of 2014.

The marked increase has been attributed to the growing number and increasing competition of streaming platforms.

Last month saw the introduction of a new competitor to the likes of Tidal and Spotify, with tech giant Apple launching its Apple Music streaming service and Beats 1 radio station on June 30.

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