Facebook Intros Music Stores

The new format allows people to listen to a 30-second preview of the shared song on its social media platform.

The new introduction is the latest effort by the Facebook to expand its content, which allows its more than 1.5 billion users to swap messages, photos and videos.

Music Stories will initially only work on Facebook’s iOS app for users with accounts on streaming leader Spotify or Apple Music.

Apple and Google have both launched paid platforms for music streaming, which allows unlimited, on-demand selection of songs online.

Spotify, despite criticism from some artists, maintains a free tier backed by advertising, meaning that Facebook users can hear songs recommended by friends without paying.

Facebook, which on Wednesday posted stronger than expected earnings, earns the vast majority of its revenue from advertising.