Nokia and Universal to offer unlimited free music downloads for new Nokia phones
Nokia and Universal Music Group have teamed up to offer unlimited free downloads of Universal songs to customers of certain Nokia mobile phones. This offer is being touted as a way to promote the use of mobile phones as a media device and to help promote a new revenue source for the music industry. Users will be able to download the entire Universal catalog at no cost for 12 months and then keep the songs at the end of the time period. You’ll be able to download music to the new Nokia phones or to computers via mobile or fixed-line broadband connections. This offer will be provided via an online music store that Nokia established last month. In return, Universal will receive a portion of revenue from the sales of the new Nokia phones.
While the agreement was just announced, the launch of the service will not begin until around the second half of next year. Nokia is talking to other music labels in the hopes that these companies would join Universal. No word on the price of the new phones nor which phones would be eligible for the offer (though it’s probably going to be the high end models).