There were no direct music announcements last night when Facebook unveiled its new Home launcher software for Android. But we still think the event provided important information on how Facebook is evolving, and what that may mean for music. Home itself is an Android ‘launcher’ – software that sits on top of Android effectively taking over devices’ home screens. “Home isn’t a phone or operating system, and it’s also more than just an app. Home is a completely new experience that lets you see the world through people, not apps,” as Facebook puts it. It includes something called Cover Feed, which replaces the Android lock screen and home screen, and is basically a Facebook news feed. That could be good news for streaming services with Facebook sharing hooks and Android apps (i.e. all of them). Meanwhile, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s claim that “There are no ads in this yet, I’m sure that one day there will be,” will have pricked up the ears of music marketers. Also well worth a read is Wired’s interview with Zuckerberg for some big-picture insights on how Facebook sees itself. “Figuring out what the next big trend is tells us what we should focus on. The big stuff that we’re seeing now is sharing with smaller groups…”
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…