It “comes with music.” That will be the basic selling proposition from Nokia for a new, unlimited music service that will accompany some mobile devices.
The Comes With Music service will be launched first in the United Kingdom. Nokia said the service will offer “a year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalog with the ability to keep all downloaded tracks even after the year is over.” The catalog includes both international and UK artists.
The 5310 Xpress Music
Tero Ojanpera, executive vice president and head of Nokia’s entertainment and communities business, said the new service “will transform the way people enjoy music.” Ojanpera added that users will be able explore new music “without having to worry about individual track or album purchases.”
In the UK, Carphone Warehouse will be the exclusive channel for the first device with the service, the Nokia 5310 Xpress Music. The price is expected to be higher than for a comparable Nokia device without the service, but pricing has not yet been announced. The 5310 is expected to be released in the fourth quarter.
Major music labels Universal, Sony BMG, and Warner offer their titles in the Nokia Music Store, which has about three million Digital Rights Management-protected music titles. While music can be kept beyond the original subscription, there’s no word yet on rates for continuing the subscription. The ability for users to transfer the tracks to other devices, and the number of times they can be transferred, will depend on the particular track.
Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, noted that while the to-be-announced pricing could affect reception, Nokia’s “different business model” of making music part of a prepaid device could have a long-standing impact.
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