BlackBerry is not a happy company nowadays, and we all know
the reason. The company had been losing its marketshare to Android and iOS for
quite some time now. BlackBerry is also in the danger of losing its prominence
in enterprise market. Despite its mild success in consumer market, the company looks
to be willing to give it one more stab. And now it is planning to join the
ranks of Apple and Google by launching its own music service.
RIM is said to be engaged in the final rounds of negotiations
with major record labels, such as Universal and Warner. If everything goes as
planned, then expect the company to make this major announcement by September 5th.
The new service is expected to work as a part of BB messenger. BlackBerry had
been working towards enhancing its messenger service with the introduction of "social
platform".
The industry reaction to the rumor is lukewarm. Analysts
doubt that the new music service would augment the subscriber base, but it may
help in delaying the erosion of the existing base. RIM has recently updated its
operating system and has introduced three new touchscreen phones. However, it
is also working on expanding the product profile of its QNX software, which would
power RIM phones next year.