Brenden Mulligan, Moderator: So there's no Facebook Music coming anytime soon?
Meredith Chin, Facebook: No.
Once upon a time, Facebook was absolutely interested in music. And, according to sources, discussing licensing possibilities with the majors and other potential partners. Facebook Music was afoot.
Well, those days are definitely no more, and now, the company is saying it out loud. At SF MusicTech on Monday, Facebook manager of Corporate Communications Meredith Chin solidly reaffirmed the company's move away from specific content categories like music. “No," Chin flatly answered to the question of whether Facebook Music would ever happen. “We're just an open platform."
So, can we now resume our regularly-scheduled, speculative program known at 'Google Music'? Facebook is just not a gorilla that wants to dance with the labels or obliterate MySpace Music, but Chin left the door wide open for outsiders. “It may seem like there are not a lot of tools, but the potential to build those tools is vast, there's a lot of possibility over the next few years," Chin noted.
So, why was RootMusic one of the only Facebook apps getting discussed at the conference? That was a head-scratcher for some attendees, though continued disinterest from investors was cited as one major reason. Meanwhile, MySpace is continuing to focus on its entertainment and music niche, another Hail Mary that Facebook—quite frankly—doesn't really give a damn about.
