Last week, Facebook announced that they will be removing memorialized and voluntarily deactivated accounts from page’s like counts. This is the second such purge of inactive Facebook profile likes in recent memory, with a similar update taking place in 2012. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, also removed inactive and spam accounts in December of last year, resulting in massive reductions in followers for artists across all genres.
This effects pages from brands and interests across the globe, but the relationship between the internet and dance music is stronger than most, and the impact from the removal of these likes will be interesting to see. From DJs and labels to blogs and magazines, rumors and allegations of buying likes have been common for years. Noting which artists, labels, blogs, and more experience more significant changes than others, will give some insight into the evolution of the dance music industry.
Facebook cites two major benefits for the move, which are consistency and improving business data relating to Facebook. With less inactive profiles impacting the reach and insight gained from pages advertising on Facebook, the data and information gleaned from these advertisements will be much more accurate. While Facebook currently filters out likes and comments from these deactivated/memorialized accounts, the filtering of their likes of pages is another step in keeping the data from Facebook as consistent as possible.
Facebook likes have long been for sale, has your favorite artist indulged?
Facebook says to expect a small dip in the number of likes for all pages, but some pages will obviously see a larger drop than others. Let us know what you think about Facebook’s latest update and if it’ll impact the way you think about the artists and pages you follow! Comment below, on Facebook, or reply on Twitter!
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