NB: this is a "remix" of my Facebook post ...
Many people know I'm not a big fan of BLACKBERRY, I have tried a few times to get rid of mine but for some reasons most companies (including my current employer) seems convinced that it is the only decent way to read emails away from the office.
And considering how RIM have consistently made a mess of the BB marketing strategy over the last few years (leading to the situation they are in now), I must admit I'm quite impressed with the way they have approached their new Music Service. First they have decided to build it on the back on BB Messenger and its 45 million users. And second they actually limit the number of songs people can stream to 50, making it the equivalet of a digital mixtape.
Here are some more details from BILLBOARD.BIZZ:
This is not a typical streaming or music download service. Those who download the app will be able to select 50 songs that represent their "music profile." They can then stream those 50 songs as many times as they like, and also connect with other users to view and stream their 50 songs, and so on. There's no limit to the number of friends users can have, or the number of streams that can be made between them. "It recreates the experience of making mixtapes for friends," says Nick Patsiopoulos, a product manager on the service. "It evolves the mixtape. It makes it easier and faster."
Rather than being a negative, I think the "mixtape approach" will actually force people to really identify their iconic songs and define their "music profile". It will probably evolve into a music matching score similar to Last.fm and maybe allow users to make new connections based on their mixtape. Since music has always been a key factor in defining yourself and the tribe you belong to, this is very simple but very clever.
As NEW ROCKSTAR PHILOSOPHY puts it " RIM Creates Social Streaming".