It's not yet available in Italy but it won't be long before we see it here too: Spotify's "miniplayer" has arrived on Facebook.
The integration between Facebook and Spotify, announced a few days ago by Fidji Simo, the manager in charge of Facebook app development, has finally arrived in the form of a "miniplayer". In 27 countries around the world, including Italy, Spotify users can now listen to music and podcasts without leaving the social app.
The availability of the new miniplayer integrated into the Facebook app has been announced by Spotify in an official statement, in which it explains the meaning of this move: you no longer need to choose whether to spend your time on Facebook or listening to something on Spotify, because now you can stay on Facebook while enjoying the background music of Spotify. Un vantaggio per entrambe le piattaforme, che si concretizza in nuove funzioni che molto probabilmente ne anticipano altre: l’integrazione è già abbastanza avanzata e Facebook sta puntando moltissimo sull’audio.
Come sentire Spotify con l’app di Facebook
Gli utenti Spotify Premium di uno dei 27 fortunati Paesi dove la funzione è già stata lanciata possono da oggi ascoltare musica, playlist e podcast dall’app di Facebook per iOS o Android. Gli utenti Spotify Free, invece, ripeteranno su Facebook la stessa esperienza non completa che è disponibile tramite l’app di Spotify. Quindi musica in shuffle e annunci pubblicitari tra un pezzo e l’altro.
I brani di Spotify saranno inseriti all’interno del feed delle notizie di Facebook (che è in fase di ristrutturazione profonda, come vi abbiamo raccontato qui) e l’utente potrà toccare il pulsante “Play" su qualunque brano condiviso, sia da sé stesso che da altri.
The first time the miniplayer is used, the user will be asked to connect the Facebook account with the Spotify account, but from the second time onwards everything will be smooth: the song will play and the user can continue to use Facebook as if nothing had happened.
Facebook bets on audio
The introduction of the Spotify miniplayer is just one of the four audio-centric innovations that are about to arrive on Facebook. The other three (we've told you about them all here) are Audio Rooms, an app that competes directly with Clubhouse, and Soundbites, a feature that will allow users to post short voice messages on their profiles.
It's clear, then, that Facebook is investing heavily in audio and is trying to go beyond images and video, areas that it already has a strong and effective presence in (except for short videos, where TikTok still rules) with various products of the group.