Nokia, which is set to launch its "Comes With Music" unlimited download to keep service later this year has announced in a press release that it has now signed deals with three of the four big labels. It is still aiming to get the fourth label, EMI, to sign up.
Going by this globeandmail.com report, there are reports saying that Nokia has paid millions to the record companies for the right to make some of their music available free for download. The cost to offer this will become part of the handset cost for the upcoming phones that will feature "Comes With Music".
When a customer buys a "Comes With Music" featured handset, they will get a one year subscription to download an unlimited number of songs from the three major labels that signed the deal with Nokia as well as any independent labels that have also made deals with Nokia. Songs can be downloaded to the user's PC or handset.
The music is DRM protected and cannot be transferred to CD or any portable player apart from the handset registered with the service. However, unlike other unlimited music download services, the music does not expire once the subscription has ended. There is no mention about whether the customer can renew their subscription after the year is up, however, this will unlikely affect most consumers who usually upgrade their phone annually, since it would be just be a matter of upgrading to another "Comes With Music" featured phone.
