Spotify Launches Facebook Integration to Push Content Discovery

Spotify announced Monday an integration with Facebook on a “miniplayer experience” based on social discovery. “Discovery is important to Spotify,” blogged the streaming audio service, saying users will be able to listen to music and podcasts from Spotify within the Facebook app on Android and iOS devices without switching between apps. Spotify Free users can have the experience via shuffle mode with accompanying ads from Spotify. To use the miniplayer, users tap the Play button on songs friends shared to their news feed. They have to consent the first time using the feature by hitting “Continue”; if they're logged in to Spotify, the apps will automatically switch and playback will start from within Spotify. Audio will keep playing as users scan their news feed. Users will also be able to play songs via the miniplayer through select verified artists’ posts or from user-uploaded videos on Facebook that contain licensed music, Spotify said. The integration is available in the U.S. and more than 20 other countries.