Nokia (NYSE: NOK) will roll out its Comes With Music bundled mobile music initiative in Australia and Singapore in the next few weeks, and hopes to launch in the US and globally later this year.
Entertainment and communities EVP Tero Ojanpera revealed at the MidemNet conference in Cannes, France, the launch would happen “within the next 10 weeks .. .during the first quarter of 2009, that’s a February/March timeframe”: “They are great markets for Nokia – both very active in music. We have been able to do all the agreements that we need to run.”
Speaking on other international plans: “We are also looking at European rollout – i cannot give a schedule there – we are working with our partenrs on getting everything ready. 2009, we are looking at the US also, also we will be looking at Latin America – 2009 will be the whole world, more or less, the timing depends on a number of factors but that’s the plan.”
— Comes With Music habits: “There are certain users who don’t activate (the service on their phone) and we are trying to force them. But then there’s a really nice bell curve… (People were) downloading tens or hundreds of songs a month initially, and we don’t know where this will exactly evolve … some people use a lot, some use a little; on average, it’s going to be a healthy business.”
— Music licenses breakthrough: “We have gotten a breakthrough on the publishing side with pan-European licensing – we have secured pan-European licenses with some of the major publishers and collecting societies so I am looking positively that we can make it happen in 2009.
— Other content?: “Advertising is something that we have been looking (at) – we have been providing some content, whether it is vidoes or some content out of music mags through adv – but streaming music or downloading, th cwm is the big bet that we are making
— Long-term thinking: “If we invest hundreds of millions in to these new experiential services – music, gaming, etc – we expect that there will be a meaningful return. We are not talking hundreds of millions – there needs to be bigger thinking here. We take a long-term view in everything we do.”