Report: Apple to sell iTunes songs through Bebo
Financial Times reports that the iTunes Store has inked its first deal with a third-party social network.
The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Apple is poised to announce a deal in which it will sell iTunes store tracks through social-networking site Bebo. At first, it appears that this applies only to Bebo's 8.8 million users in the U.K. and Ireland, where the service is most popular, but the story hinted that it may expand to the rest of Bebo's 33 million-strong user base if successful.
According to the Financial Times article, any band or artist with a Bebo profile--there are approximately 500,000 of them--that's already part of the iTunes catalog will be able to embed an iTunes widget into its page and sell its music through it. Bebo will in turn promote the iTunes features with a free "single of the week" that aims to highlight upcoming and lesser-known artists.
This marks the first time the iTunes store has partnered with a third-party social-networking site to sell its music. The Financial Times suggests that the official announcement from Apple will come Wednesday and that the Bebo partnership may be active on the same day.
Side note: Could a Facebook Platform application be on the way for the iTunes store?