Facebook may struggle in digital entertainment

Facebook Inc., expected to unveil services for sharing online music and videos today, may struggle to narrow Google Inc. and Apple Inc.’s lead in the market for digital entertainment, according to the Bloomberg.

The company is likely to announce at the F8 developers conference that its users will be able to incorporate online music services including Spotify Ltd. and Rdio Inc. on their home pages, said people with knowledge of the plans last month.

Movies and television shows also are likely to be part of the company’s announcements, said Lou Kerner, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc. in New York.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg is bulking up the social network’s features beyond status updates and photo tagging to make the site more attractive to users and the advertisers keen to reach them. Facebook is playing catch-up with Apple, owner of iTunes, and Google, which offers video and music services.

“It’s going to be an uphill battle,” said Sean Corcoran, an analyst with Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, noting it’s not clear what the competition will be until the company names potential partners.

“But they have the one thing that others don’t have: Many, many people’s social graphs sitting there to leverage,” he added.