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In a move to increase the appeal of its online platform, social networking giant MySpace has announced the acquisition of music sharing service iLike, which just so happens to be the leading music application utilised through market rival Facebook.
iLike now under the wing of MySpace. Image: iLike/News Corp.
“The iLike acquisition advances our relentless pursuit of innovation,” explained MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta during a media conference call centred on the purchase.
Although currently focused on the social recommendation of musical content, Van Natta added that future plans for iLike could well see it expanding coverage to also include movies and videogames.
The iLike purchase, which was reportedly stolen out from under Facebook’s nose, will see MySpace receiving a widespread application user base of around 55 million people.
While financial details surrounding the acquisition have not been divulged by either party, online reports suggest iLike has cost MySpace a fairly modest fee of approximately $20 million USD.
Considering Facebook provides some 80 percent of iLike’s traffic, CNET’s Caroline McCarthy offers that possible ramifications from MySpace’s core rival could see it opting to either restrict access or block the application completely.
However, a Facebook statement to the BBC indicates that the network “expects that users will continue to discover and share music through the iLike application on Facebook.”
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