There have been estimates that the virtual-goods industry has become a billion-dollar business. This move by Facebook will make it an even bigger player in this emerging industry.
The music files will be sold through a partnership with Lala ( lala.com ). Currently, the files are only be available for sale to US customers. This will change shortly. Facebook plans on allowing music sales for up to 15 currencies.
Facebook may have been motivated by an earlier move by MySpace, which aquired iLike. ILike powers a very popular music gifting application.