Nokia lets rip to create music millionaires

3 Sep 2008

The world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer Nokia yesterday launched a new music download model that allows people to download free music over the course of a year and then keep the music forever.

The UK market will be the first market in the world to experience the ‘Comes With Music’ business model before it is rolled out to other markets from October.

Until the end of the year, Carphone Warehouse will exclusively offer the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Comes With Music edition.

People who buy this edition will have the freedom to find and listen to music from a diverse, unlimited catalogue of international artists for a whole year.

Once the year is over they can hold onto their downloaded tracks indefinitely.

“We believe that Comes With Music will transform the way people enjoy music,” said Tero Ojanperä, executive vice-president and head of the Nokia entertainment and communities business.

“With unlimited music access for a year, you can enjoy your favourite artists or delve into new genres without having to worry about individual track or album purchases,” Ojanperä said.

The chief executive of Carphone Warehouse UK, Andrew Harrison, said he expects the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Comes With Music edition to be the gift of the Christmas season.

“We know how much our customers love music and we hope to make music millionaires of people everywhere,” Harrison said.

By John Kennedy

Pictured: the Nokia XpressMusic ‘Comes With Music’ mobile phone

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com