Will Facebook face the music?

Something called Co-Ed Magazine — which I have never heard of until this moment — is reporting that Facebook will soon launch a music platform that allows artists to connect easily with their fans and even sell music or other merchandise through widgets, etc. This, of course, is very similar to what MySpace already does through Snocap and its recently announced deal with Zazzle, the custom T-shirt company.

A music strategy like the one Co-Ed describes makes a lot of sense for Facebook — so much sense that it has been rumoured to be launching just such a thing several times over the past six months or so. Co-Ed mag says that it has heard from record label executives that something will be announced at the upcoming ad:tech conference. Whether the announcement comes then or not, it is likely something Facebook wants to do.

But will it work? There’s no question that Facebook has a big platform and lots of users — and music-sharing apps like iLike have gotten a good response from members of the social network. And yet, MySpace seems to me to be the de facto place where bands and musicians set up their shops, meet their fans and upload tracks or video. In a way, Facebook seems a little too restrained and buttoned-down for that kind of thing.