RIM Said in Talks to Start BlackBerry Music App With Labels
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) is in negotiations with record labels to introduce a music service for its BlackBerry smartphone to challenge Apple Inc. (AAPL), two people familiar with RIM’s plans said.
The service would allow users to collect and share music with friends through an application on their phones, said the people, who wouldn’t be identified because the talks aren’t public. The service, which will run with RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger instant-messaging system, may be announced in the next few days, the people said.
RIM is negotiating with major record labels, which include Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, EMI Group Ltd. and Sony Music Entertainment.
RIM is looking for ways to capitalize on the popularity of BlackBerry Messenger, which comes free on all BlackBerrys and has about 45 million users, to stop a decline in market share. The company’s share of the global smartphone market fell to 12 percent in the second quarter from 19 percent a year earlier, according to Gartner. Over the same period, Apple climbed to 18 percent from 14 percent, and devices based on Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android gained rose to 43 percent of the market, Gartner said.
Marisa Conway, a spokeswoman for RIM, said the company doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation. Will Tanous, a Warner Music spokesman; Brian Garrity, a Sony Music spokesman; and Roberta Thomson, a spokeswoman for EMI Group, declined to comment. Peter Lofrumento, a spokesman for Universal, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
CNET reported that RIM was in talks with record labels today.
RIM fell $1.03, or 3.8 percent, to $25.76 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has dropped 56 percent this year.
To contact the reporters on this story: Hugo Miller in Toronto at hugomiller@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net
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