Facebook reportedly set to launch new music streaming service

The company will compete with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal

Social networking giant Facebook is reportedly set to compete with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and others by launching a new music streaming service.

The company is currently in talks with labels over the ad-supported monetisation of music videos, with Music Ally claiming that this will lead to the launch of an on-demand audio service.

Music Ally report: “The first phase will see Facebook paying royalties to music rightsholders for plays of their music videos on its service, while also launching a system akin to YouTube’s Content ID to help those rightsholders identify and then either take down or ‘claim’ user-uploaded videos featuring their music – getting associated ad revenues in the latter case.”

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The music video plans are 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”.

Meanwhile, music streaming in the UK has reached a record high, with new figures showing a 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.

NMEPress

“Millions of households are experiencing the joy of instantly playing any song they want,” says Geoff Taylor, chief executive of the BPI, in a press release.

“All around their house and on any device, [they’re] exploring a universe of new music and classic albums.”

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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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