This may not end well. In order to sign up for popular streaming music service, Spotify, you’ll now need to be a Facebook member first. That’s right, you’ll need a Facebook account in order to use Spotify.
Here’s one Spotify employee’s answer to the question, “Can you sign up for Spotify without Facebook?”:
“Hey Guys thanks for your question, Unfortunately you will need a Facebook account to access Spotify from now on, unless you already have an account set up.
This does not stop you creating the Facebook account adding nothing to it and making it totally private as the Facebook account does not have to be actively used.”
There’s a whole thread discussing the requirement in Spotify’s “Get Satisfaction” community-powered support section. The thread’s three main tags: stupid, bad idea and sad.
(MORE: Will Facebook Music Actually Work?)
Spotify’s CEO made an appearance at Mark Zuckerberg’s unveiling of the new Facebook design last week, where it was announced that music services will tightly integrate into the social network. Songs you’re listening to will show up in Facebook’s ever-churning “Ticker” feature, at which point your friends will be able to listen to the same song as you in real time.
It looks like a cool enough feature, sure, but it’s still bizarre that Spotify would require you to have a Facebook account just to use its service. On the plus side, if you joined Spotify before a few days ago, your account will still work whether you’re on Facebook or not. I’ll note that I’m a paying Spotify Premium member and I like the service very much, though I have no desire to associate it with Facebook in any way.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Spotify backs down here amidst all the user pushback or if it sticks to its guns with this whole idea of a social-first music experience. Whatever the case, it just cut out a big chunk of potential users.
MORE: Reveal More, Consume More: Facebook’s Big Changes
[via TechCrunch]