There are a few potential reasons why you may not see a music option on your Facebook profile:
Facebook Removed the Music Feature
In 2014, Facebook removed the ability to list your favorite music and artists on your profile. This was likely due to a shift in focus away from profile customization and towards more news feed and advertising-focused features. The music interest field was not being widely used, so Facebook decided to remove it altogether.
The Music Feature is Not Available in All Regions
It’s possible the music profile option is simply not available to you based on your geographic location. Facebook has experimented with and rolled out features gradually over time. For example, the music profile option may still be appearing for some users in the United States, while those in other countries no longer see the option.
You May Have Your Profile Set to Private
If your Facebook profile settings are totally private, this can also restrict which profile fields are visible or available to you for customization. Double check your privacy settings to see if your profile visibility is limited to “only me.” Making your profile visible to at least “friends” or “public” may enable the music profile field.
Your Account May Not Have Enough Activity
Facebook tends to introduce new features and options to those who use the platform more actively first. If your account is relatively inactive with few posts, friends or logins, Facebook may restrict your access to newer profile customization tools as a result.
Music May Not Align with Your Age Group or Demographics
Facebook caters profile options like music interests to particular demographics and age groups on their platform. If you fall outside the audience Facebook believes would utilize the music profile option, you may not ever see it appear as a customization choice.
How to Add Music Interests to Your Facebook Profile
While the dedicated music profile field is no longer there, you can still showcase your favorite music tastes on your Facebook profile in other ways:
- List bands or musicians you like in the About section
- Share song or album posts on your timeline
- Comment on music-related Facebook pages
- Follow musical artists on Facebook
- Join Facebook Groups for specific bands or genres
- Use a musical artist profile picture
- Select the “Music” interest when liking Pages
Other Places to Showcase Musical Interests on Facebook
Beyond your personal profile page, there are places across Facebook where you can highlight your favorite music:
- Favorite Songs/Artists sections in Facebook Dating profiles
- Music sticker in Facebook Stories
- Music in Facebook Messenger
- Facebook Reels music features
- Facebook Events musical artist tags
- Facebook Ad interests based on music likes
Why Facebook Removed the Music Profile Field
There are several theories as to why Facebook removed the dedicated music section from profiles in 2014:
- Declining usage – As Facebook evolved, profile info was less prioritized than News Feed. Music interests didn’t get much engagement.
- Prioritizing advertising – Facebook wanted to focus more on monetization opportunities than profile customization.
- Legal concerns – Listening data could have sparked privacy issues and music licensing legalities.
- Limited application – The music field was fairly one dimensional and didn’t provide ways for deeper engagement.
- Visual focus – Facebook profiles became more photo-centric, making text fields less important.
Loss of Music Data and Engagement
By removing music interests from profiles, Facebook did lose out on the ability to gain valuable music-related data and engagement from its users. However, it likely made a calculated decision to focus resources on more high-demand product features.
Alternatives Emerged
Users did not abandon Facebook as a result of the music profile removal, as many alternatives emerged to express musical passions. The platform remained engaging despite this change.
Shift to Mobile Priority
Facebook’s focus on sleeker, iterative mobile app updates aligned with the removal of niche profile fields like music that took up valuable screen space.
Should Facebook Bring Back Music Interests to Profiles?
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Allows personal self-expression | Takes up profile space on mobile |
| Gives Facebook more user data | Music tastes can change frequently |
| Drives engagement with music content | Hard to maintain with new artists always emerging |
| Can connect users over shared interests | Other social platforms have more robust music options |
| Nostalgic for those who miss the old feature | Privacy concerns around third-party music data access |
Potential Benefits
Bringing back music interests could allow for deeper connections between users based on shared tastes. It would also give Facebook more data signals to improve music recommendations.
Unlikely to Reappear
Music interests are probably gone for good on main Facebook profiles. However, they may continue to arise in newer social features across Facebook, Instagram, Metaverse spaces, etc.
Other Social Networks’ Music Profile Options
While music was removed from Facebook profiles, other leading social networks do incorporate music interests in varying capacities:
Instagram users can showcase “Songs stuck in my head” on profiles, add music to Stories and Reels, and integrate lyrics stickers.
While not on profiles, Twitter users can tweet about music, follow artists, and embed song previews.
TikTok
Music is central to TikTok, enabling users to enhance videos with popular songs and share favorite artists.
Snapchat
Snapchat offers robust integration with music via playlists, songs in Snap videos, artist partnerships, and music stickers.
YouTube
YouTube allows sharing favorite music videos on one’s channel and creating playlists to share musical tastes.
How Music Taste Sharing Has Evolved
Music interest sharing has changed as social media has evolved:
MySpace Era
MySpace profiles famously allowed customizing with Top 8 Friends, backgrounds, fonts, and of course – listing favorite bands.
Facebook Rise
Facebook displaced MySpace by simplifying profiles, including just Favorite Music and Movies, etc. This made music sharing more lightweight.
Spotify Emergence
As streaming rose with Spotify, sharing music expanded beyond profiles to socially posting listening activities.
Visual Sharing
Instagram and TikTok made music sharing more visual via Stories, Reels, and video clips.
Frictionless Embedding
Platforms like Linkfire reduced friction to embed songs, concerts, playlists and make sharing seamless.
Facebook’s Music Evolution
Facebook’s music integrations and strategy have changed dramatically since its early college roots:
Profile Fields
List your favorite bands first emerged in simple text on profiles, before expanding into a Likes section.
Partnerships
Facebook later pursued deeper music integrations via partners like Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and more.
Live Streaming
Live concert streaming on Facebook opened new avenues for artists and fans to connect.
Video Content
As video took priority, Facebook added capabilities to incorporate music clips into shared videos.
Licensing Deals
Facebook secured major licensing deals to take music sharing to the next level while satisfying rightsholders.
Audio Products
Recent additions like Live Audio Rooms, Soundbites, and music in Oculus hint at Facebook’s next chapter in social music innovation.
Potential Future of Music on Facebook
Facebook may bring back music interests to profiles in some form in the future, or develop new ways to share music passions:
- Profile integration with Spotify and Apple Music
- Music NFT displays on profiles in Metaverse
- “Listening to” status updates”
- Enhanced musician live streaming capabilities
- Profile music analysis via AI
- Launch “Music Stories” for sharing playlists
- Stories/Reels lyric stickers and song clips
VR Music Experiences
Facebook’s Metaverse push could lead to immersive virtual music experiences where users attend concerts and share music profiles.
Tighter Artist Integration
Partnerships directly with musicians and bands could enable deeper artist profiles and exclusive content.
Conclusion
While dedicated music profile fields are no longer a core part of Facebook, music remains deeply ingrained in social experiences. Facebook will likely continue experimenting with music integration into both its existing apps and future virtual worlds. However, the singular music profile field may not reemerge anytime soon. Still, nostalgic users longing for the old MySpace-style profiles can showcase their tunes through other Facebook content forms.