Facebook is in the news again. Now think for a second… when was the last time Facebook was in the news about something they did that everyone loved? If you can’t think about it, go on and google that, and please let us know in the comments if you find the answer because we can’t. From little things like their “ask relationship status” option to their scrutinized privacy policy fiasco, Facebook hasn’t really made many friends with their decision making; their latest policy change is no different.
If you’re a fan of our free downloads, you’ve likely been taken to an artist’s page and asked to “like” them before you can download their content. Well now Facebook has decided this is a no-no, and changed their developer platform policies stating:
“You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page. This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It remains acceptable to incentivize people to login to your app, check in at a place or enter a promotion on your app’s Page. To ensure quality connections and help businesses reach the people who matter to them, we want people to like Pages because they want to connect and hear from the business, not because of artificial incentives. We believe this update will benefit people and advertisers alike.”
Facebook has become a major platform for all artist tiers, but especially the newcomers. This platform and feature have been an excellent way to increase outreach and exposure, which is huge in an industry that’s supersaturated with producers looking to hit it big. By taking this away, the search for great new content has gotten that much harder.
On the plus side, the number of likes per page will shine truer, as people will (or should) be liking content because they really like the content, not because they want a single something. In theory this is won’t sugarcoat the truth for artists and they’ll actually know how loved they really are, and for those who have the money for it, the “Sponsored Post” option is still available.
Facebook is lucky it’s been in the game long enough and is so ingrained in how we operate, producers will still use the site heavily, and smaller names will just have to get more creative to stand out. Page-runners have until November 5th to change their page setup, so it’ll be interesting to see how people adapt in the meantime.
