Nokia may sign second label to mobile music service

By Michael Hatamoto | Published March 20, 2008, 7:39 PM

Record label EMI yesterday publicly announced it is in talks with Nokia to have music from its catalog offered through Nokia's new "Comes with Music" initiative that is to be offered on select Nokia phones.

First announced last December, the Comes with Music program allows consumers who just purchased a Nokia phone to have access to a music catalog of millions of songs through a one year subscription plan.

If the companies are able to forge a deal, EMI will join Universal Music Group, which is currently the only record label signed up to Comes with Music. Nokia reportedly is negotiating with other major labels to have their artists come to the service, but a sticking point is the unique subscription model.

In a twist on the standard approach, after the one year subscription is over, all songs downloaded to the phone remain on the phone, regardless of whether or not a user subscribes to the service again. Users will also be able to transfer the songs directly to their PC. Nokia is reportedly offering music companies up to $80 per device sold.

Nokia expects to begin selling mobile phones bundled with Comes with Music beginning in the second half of this year.

According to reports, Apple is also interested in working with music labels to offer a similar subscription plan for its iPod line of MP3 players and the popular iPhone, although the company has not commented on the speculation.