Spotify users steamed over Facebook requirement
New users to the music-streaming service are required to have an account with the social-networking giant, angering many.
Are you horrified that your Facebook friends will learn you dirty little music taste secrets?
Apparently the need to keep secret that love of The Carpenters, Air Supply, or any number of '80s hair bands is fueling a kerfuffle over the announcement that all new Spotify users must use a Facebook account to sign up for the music service.
Visitors to the sign-up page are now greeted by the following message:
"You need a Facebook account to register for Spotify. If you have an account, just log in below to register. If you don't have a Facebook account, get one by clicking the 'create an account' link below."
The new requirement comes after last week's announcement at the F8 developer conference that the social-networking giant and music-streaming service were integrating their services.
The partnership was touted as allowing Spotify users to listen to a wider selection of music. However, the integration also lets users' Facebook friends see what tunes they are currently listening to.
And that isn't sitting well with some music fans, who have been flooding discussion boards to express their displeasure with the new arrangement.
"Not cool. My Spotify account isn't linked to Facebook, and it'll stay that way, thankyouverymuch," wrote one Getsatisfaction.com member, echoing sentiments expressed by many on the site. "If I didn't have an account already, this would prevent me from signing up."
Meanwhile, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has been trying to deflect a chorus of complaints on Twitter, engaging users in a very public debate about the Facebook requirement on his feed.
"We view it differently," Ek wrote on Twitter in response to some of that criticism."There's been a big barrier to sign-up, we wanted to remove that, and make it a seamless experience."
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In a statement, the company touted the Facebook requirement as making the registration process easier and pointed out that users don't have to be logged in to Faceook to use the music streaming service.
However, Ek said also the company is open to making changes based on the feedback it receives.
"We'll try lots of things, and probably screw up from time to time, but we value feedback and will make changes based on it," he said, pointing out that it is possible to opt out of music sharing.
To learn how to limit or cut off your Spotify music sharing on Facebook, read this how-to article by CNET blogger Matt Elliott.