It seems that Facebook’s iconic thumbs up is turning into a giant middle finger. In what is another horrendous maneuver, the social media giant will be banning any “Like to Download” feature on the site once their new policies kick in on the fifth of November this year. Already having shafted creators on their page’s reach, the new ban will hinder engagement between fans and these pages, despite Facebook stating it will “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.” I think that statement is pretty easy to poke holes in.
I understand they want people to like things they want to like and not be forced to like something for a reward, but that’s just so limiting. Of course, I’m pretty pissed off because this is another maneuver that is a slap in the face to rising talent, who will now have to scramble even further for their fans/engagement. However, I’m mostly upset because this is just outright dumb. Sure, having gated downloads hinders non-Facebook users from receiving content, but that’s not their aim. Their aim is to cut out “artificial incentives.” What I think is artificial is having to PAY for something you earned: fans. What’s not artificial is interaction between two parties, where both have things to gain. What’s artificial about a mutually beneficial deal? 
When corporate bullshit occurs, money is at the heart of it, usually always. When you think about it, this will force pages to have to use ads. They’ll also have to interact with all they have in order to build out from there. Meaning, pages will have to sponsor their posts with money and pay for Facebook ads.
The reason the internet and social media is so cool, is because of interaction. It’s a place where you can find new things and new people to engage yourself in. With this move, Facebook is directly going against that. Once again, the little guy is getting stepped on. Facebook and Soundcloud soon shall be a thing of the past if they keep up with their crap. Because frankly, that’s what it is.
Source: Facebook
We’re actually releasing a ‘Like to Download’ alternative for artists to help build their fan base and market themselves on social media.
We wanted to put together something simple and effective for artists and DJs.
It’ll be released to the public in January.
If you’d like to be notified first when its launched you can go to http://goo.gl/Dr3fM6
I like the “like to download” thing. It sucks now that it has to go, but it was a great way to get more likes on a Facebook page. Then again, it does leave out the non-facebook crowd into getting their favorite artists tunes. So this could be either a good thing or a bad thing.
I know it’s really trendy right now to hate on Facebook but this article ignores the single factor that makes both social media and search engines go round: relevant content. While it is true that this is probably in part a move by Facebook to encourage paid likes, it is more fundamentally a step towards keeping social media content relevant. In the age of web 3.0, content is king. And yes, music is content. But forcing someone to like your page so they can download something doesn’t help businesses, artists, etc deliver relevant content to the end user. It simply clutters up the news feed.
If you really want to support your artists and help them reach relevant fans, simply give them a like. This is what we call “organic reach” and it spreads based on quality content. Pages that put out good content are rewarded with organic likes when their content gets shared over and over.
In my opinion, I thought the “Like to download” button was totally gimmicky. Didn’t mean to rant but hopefully people will think before shitting all over Facebook just because it’s cool. The best way to support your favorite artists is by sharing their content.
MY FACE BOOK IS NOT WORKING HELP HELP…
Remember, Remember. The fifth of November.
I just clikc i like start downloading and then unlike it dont see the problem