Meta and Spotify are collaborating on deeper music integration within Meta’s Instagram app. Recent findings suggest that the companies are experimenting with a feature that would enable users to seamlessly share the music they are listening to via Instagram’s Notes feature.
The discovery of this new functionality was made by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who frequently uncovers unreleased features in their early stages of development. However, it’s important to note that companies like Meta and Spotify continuously test new concepts, so the existence of this feature in testing does not guarantee a public release in the immediate future.
A screenshot shared by Paluzzi on Meta’s Threads platform reveals a potential new option that would allow users to “continuously share” their Spotify music selections within Instagram, as an alternative to choosing songs from Instagram’s music library.
The screenshot also indicates that users have the ability to stop sharing their music at any time.
If this feature is rolled out, it would enhance an update introduced slightly over a year ago, where Instagram users gained the ability to share brief song clips using the Notes feature. Launched in 2022, Notes allows users to post their status or quick updates right above their Instagram inbox. The song clips functionality has been available in all markets where Instagram has music licensing agreements.
A partnership with Spotify could automate the sharing of music posts, generating content for Instagram even when users are engaged with other apps.
This new feature bears similarity to the social interaction within Spotify’s platform. Presently, Spotify users can connect with Facebook to see what their friends are listening to on the desktop app, among other features being tested.
Spotify and Meta have a history of collaborating on music-related endeavors. The companies recently worked together on music initiatives like a miniplayer on Facebook that streamed Spotify directly within the app. They also share common concerns regarding Apple’s policies, particularly in relation to in-app payments and app distribution.
Despite the addition of more social features by Spotify, including commenting on podcasts, the company recognizes that music discovery often occurs on dedicated social networking platforms where users have established friend networks.
There have been recent signs of a potential Meta-Spotify partnership, with Instagram incorporating a “SpotifyiOS.framework” component in a recent app version release. This integration could potentially lead to more music-related features on Instagram to compete with platforms like TikTok.
Both Spotify and Meta declined to comment on these recent developments.
