Sony BMG, one of the four top recording companies, announced Tuesday that it has agreed to partner with Nokia’s subscription-based music download service to make its music catalog available on select Nokia devices.
The Nokia “Comes With Music” program will offer Nokia cellular owners the opportunity to download unlimited music from various artists on their mobile phones and computers during the first year they own their Nokia device.
“Sony BMG Music Entertainment has officially joined Nokia Comes With Music, a revolutionary way for people to discover and enjoy music with their Nokia device,” Nokia said in a statement.
“After buying one of the devices, users will get unlimited free access to the music of Alicia Keys, the Foo Fighters or any Sony BMG artist for a full year.”
At the end of last year, Nokia unveiled a similar deal for its “Comes With Music” phones with the top record label Universal.
“Comes With Music is expected to launch in the second half of 2008 on a range of Nokia devices in selected markets,” Nokia said in a statement.
The new music offering from Nokia — the first cellphone maker to push heavily into content — would differ from any other package on the market. After the first 12 months, Nokia customers get to keep the music they downloaded and can either buy new music or sign a subscription for unlimited access.
What is revolutionary about these deals — Universal Music Group was first among the labels to sign up with the service — is that Nokia users can download any song from Sony BMG and keep the music for the rest of their lives. There is no ceiling on the number of songs and the music does not disappear at the end of the year.
This is understood to be the labels’ deepest assault into free music, and is reflective of the industry’s effort to find new business models that can compete with piracy, shrinking CD sales, and iTunes.
“We think this business model will encourage users to sample a wide range of material, expand their musical tastes, and listen to more music than ever before,” said Thomas Hesse, Sony BMG’s President of Global Digital Business.
Sony BMG, home to artists including Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen and Celine Dion, is jointly owned by Sony Corp and German media group Bertelsmann AG.
“Nokia gave no financial details about the deal.”
The Finnish company, whose phones are sold well in developing markets such as China, India and Latin America, is trying secure future success by expanding from mere phonemaking into mobile phone software and services.
Nokia has long been under pressure in the US markets and the latest music service is seen as an attempt to fight Apple’s popular iPhone, launched last June.