Nokia Taps David Bowie For Mobile Music Download Service

Nokia plans to launch a music download service in November and has recruited David Bowie to helm the endeavor. Nokia definitely has its sights on the mobile music arena, and will be offering more sophisticated music phones in the near future to combat Motorola’s partnership with Apple and their iTunes software. Unfortunately, they’ve had a difficult time reaching licensing deals with the major labels. So what do they do?

Create a new service for emerging musical talent.

Nokia will filter the up-and-coming talent via Bowie’s picks and podcasts, but the majority of recommendations will come from various record stores around the world, with each store specialising in a specific genre.

Those who sign up to the free service get an email or text message each month with personalised recommendations and links to 30 second clips of the recommended music. Members in the UK and Australia also get a “buy” button to purchase the music at 89 pence per track, using the Loudeye system Nokia acquired earlier this year.

The music shops get a cut of the sale price, though Nokia wouldn’t say how much, and while the system is very much indie-orientated right now it is the first step towards the more comprehensive system Nokia will be launching next year.

The Future: Nokia is laying out its strategy to become the dominant player in the mobile music business. By creating the service part of the mobile music solution, it is hoping to cement the foundation for the entire vertical. Nokia is hoping that the service and hardware will mature simultaneously over the next two years enabling them to establish a strong customer base who will come to see the Nokia brand for mobile music in the same way that Apple is to portable music players.

Author: FutureMusic

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