Last week Apple announced it was revamping its nearly-forgotten social networking service named iTunes Ping to create Apple Music. One of the new features that caught my eye of Apple Music was the “Artist Activity” feature, which will show who different musicians are listening to at any given point in time.

When I first read the idea, I thought it was a good one. Spotify possesses a similar option of following friends where each person can see what the other has been listening to. This seemed like an avenue that could be great for avid music lovers, who would be able to see their favorite singers share either bands that influenced them or unknowns that they feel are really worth investigating. Getting a look at who the people you enjoy are listening to would broaden your own musical scope.

However, the article by Amit Chowdhry on Forbes’ website brought up a great example of why this is a bad idea. It all points down to advertising: this option will evolve into just another way for singers to endorse people connected in their lives. The example of Jay-Z sharing Beyonce’s music really changed my mind on the entire subject; of course Jay-Z will use this as another way to promote his wife and her music.

This notion by Apple stands as a great idea that just cannot be executed properly. The dollar signs that surround the idea will not allow it to happen.