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Facebook announced, during their F8 developer conference, last spring, that they were going to integrate Apple Music into their Messenger app.  This sounds pretty cool, right?  It kind of looks like it is.  The feature is being rolled out to users now.  The same feature was first rolled out with Apple Music competitor Spotify.  But it has been reported that the Apple Music chat extension is also showing up in the Messenger app.

How does this work? When in a Messenger message, tap on the + symbol to the left of the text box. Then look for the Apple Music extension and tap on it to get going.  You can only stream from within Messenger, so as long as you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you’re good to go.  If you’re not a subscriber, you can stream and share 30-second snippets.  Which sounds like a way for Apple to try to entice you to their subscription service.

You can also interact with an Apple Music bot on both the desktop and mobile versions by searching for it as a new contact in your friend’s list.  What will this do, exactly?  Facebook says that sending an emoji to the bot will prompt it to suggest a new playlist based on the nature of the emoji.  My mind has automatically gone into the gutter, and I wonder what kind of emoji would prompt say an R. Kelly song?  I am joking and yet, I seriously want to know the answer to this one.  Someone please try it out and tell me.  ASAP.

You are all very familiar with my disdain for Facebook.  And this product doesn’t restore my faith in the company.  Why is this even necessary?  Why don’t you just run Apple Music or Spotify (or whatever you use) from your phone or your computer?  Why does it have to integrate into my Facebook account as well?  I’m not trying to be hard on Facebook, I just can’t understand why this feature is even necessary.

It’s also an interesting marriage, isn’t it?  Facebook and Apple that is.  To me, Facebook seems like it’s on the fringe in terms of Apple’s ecosystem.  Yes, the Facebook app works on iOS devices.  It has to.  But Apple tends to like people to use their own products.  Apple doesn’t have a social media platform.  Or at least not yet.  You can listen to and share music within iMessage, so maybe they’re just seeing Facebook as a bigger market?

I like the fact that you can type in an emoji and it will give you a playlist to listen to.  It sounds like this is working by using artificial intelligence.  Aside from not being a fan of Facebook, you also know that I love to see how AI is being applied.  Which is what I do like about this integration.  I would like to know how robust the platform is in terms of getting to know your preferences and being able to base a selection for you on that.

By Staff Writer

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