Nokia is to launch its Comes with Music service in China, hoping that tapping into the world’s largest mobile market will help it gain ground against Apple’s iTunes.
The company will offer music from major labels such as Universal, Sony, Warner and EMI, as well as local artists. It’ll be the first DRM-free music download service in the country.
The unlimited download service will be available on eight devices – the Nokia X6 32GB and Nokia X6 16GB, Nokia 5230, Nokia 5330, Nokia 5800w, Nokia 6700s, Nokia E52 and Nokia E72i. Prices will start at E140.
“This launch delivers a truly mass market music offering from China’s most loved mobile brand. Our broad range of Comes With Music enabled devices and the high quality, DRM-free catalogue form the perfect legal download recipe for the world’s biggest market for mobile phones,” says Liz Schimel, Global Head of Music, Nokia.
China has traditionally been the pirate’s dream – some estimates put the figure for unauthorised music downloads in the country as high as 95 percent.
“We are delighted to be expanding our partnership with Nokia to bring Comes With Music to the Chinese market,” says Thomas Hesse, president of global digital business, US sales and corporate Strategy for Sony Music Entertainment.
“We think there is great potential to convert China’s massive audience of music fans into consumers of legitimate digital music with compelling services that are easy-to-use and broadly available across a wide array of mobile devices.”
Comes with Music is currently available in 18 countries. The company says it plans to expand the service to India soon.
