New RIM Streaming Music: $5 For 50 Songs? 149
jfruhlinger writes with news that Research In Motion will soon jump into the music service market. The service will be available through BlackBerry Messenger, and will offer users 50 songs for $5/month, which they can then share with other people who own BlackBerries.
"So why would anyone pay $5 a month to get 50 songs on their phone, when they can pay $10 a month and get an unlimited number of songs, that work on lots of different devices, from services like Rdio and Rhapsody? Reasonable question! But RIM seems to be assuming that its subscribers won’t ask. Instead it is playing up the notion that BBM Music will be about 'personalizing' your phone, in the same way that ringtones supposedly did a decade ago. Ringtones, as you’ll recall, let buyers play a few seconds of a song, and sold for a couple bucks, while full songs from Apple’s iTunes went for 99 cents. And for a few years, the music companies and the wireless carriers sold lots and lots of ringtones."
Before going down the 3rd time... (Score:4, Insightful)
Before going down the 3rd time, a drowning man thrashes harder than ever.
Typical RIM mentality. (Score:5, Insightful)
"What about this."
"We're RIM. You want this."
"No. Seriously. What about this?
"We're RIM. You want this."
Newsflash RIM. You've been resting on the fact that you were a big dog in the early professional mobile market. That's not going to save you. It's the only reason you haven't bailed from the market already. It's not going to slow your plummet anymore.
So get back to work and FOR FUCK'S SAKE...INNOVATE. Otherwise, take your place along other relics such as Microsoft Bob. The Lisa. The Osborne 2. Get the picture?
Re:I prefer Apple's model (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:99 cents is too much these days (Score:5, Insightful)
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
99 cents for a song isn't extortion. At worst, it's a price somewhat higher than you'd like it to be. The fact that you have the ability to take something without paying doesn't mean that someone is extorting you by asking that you give them a dollar as a reward for their hard work.
People are so cheap... (Score:2, Insightful)
So now 10 cents is too much to pay for a song? What's outrageous is being charged 20 cents for a freaking text message.
Re:This might work given the audience (Score:4, Insightful)
It's all about the convenience. Torrenting is far too complex and too much hassle. I've seen some of the interviews, and they're hard pressed to operate their phones, much less uTorrent. This is $5, no hassle.
Re:I prefer Apple's model (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Exactly what I need! (Score:4, Insightful)
And, as usual, everyone on this entire site is aware of that.
Why the hate? (Score:2, Insightful)
If it where anyone else putting this out, it would be heralded as the second coming of the music generation. Since it is RIM, the knee-jerk reaction is to slam it, without understanding what it is.
Critical analysis is lost when it comes to RIM
Re:99 cents is too much these days (Score:5, Insightful)
Someone wrote, performed, and recorded a song. If you would like to be able to listen to their work whenever you want, pay $0.99 for it (which is 1/2 of the cost of a fricking cup of coffee these days, and that will last you about an hour until you pee it out).
Did they force you to download it and now demand money or they will break your fingers? No? Then it's not extortion.
I don't get why people complain about this stuff so much. It's a completely elective entertainment expense, you decide if it's worth it and either buy it or don't...