Spotify hooks up with Facebook for music sharing

Facebook unleashed a whole slew of major announcements today during its f8 developer conference, but one of the deals we've been anticipating is some sort of Spotify integration. And indeed, Spotify along with a few other music services have hooked up with Facebook for a new kind of music sharing through the social network's new Ticker feature.

We've seen a preview of the Ticker before, which will appear at the top right corner of your screen, showing real-time status updates from your friends. Now with music integration, you'll also be able to see what you're friends are currently listening to on Facebook and you'll be able to access that music from the Ticker to listen along. When you do so, your friend or friend of your friend, who is listening to that song, will get a notification.

This new form of sharing is what Facebook is calling "real-time serendipity." This opens up many new opportunities for music sharing and discovery. Spotify will also be powering music in posts with play buttons in the revamped News Feed area. Simply clicking on the play button lets you listen and share free music and lets you help your friends discover new music.