Facebook, Google next to offer music

Facebook and Google are expanding their services into music sharing, sampling, and downloading, the New York Times reported yesterday.

Google will be announcing their new music offering next Wednesday, but the word on the street is that once a user searches for information on a band, album or song(s), an option to play a 30-second sample, or in some cases the whole song, will appear. However, Google, will not host the music, reports the NYT.  More details to come next week...

And now Facebook will be bleeding MySpace for the last reason people actually go to that site--music. Later this week, Facebook is said to be launching music options in their gift store, reports Billboard.com.  Powered, in part, by Lala, the song can be purchased for a certain number of credits--1 for a Web-only version (which equals about 10 cents), 9 for an MP3 (around a buck) that can be downloaded into iTunes or wherever-- then shared with a few friends. The shared song will then show up in the friends' walls.

Want more info? You may have to wait, but if you want to read more, visit my Google News search on the topic.