As a critical element of its push into mobile services, Nokia claims it is confident about securing deals with the world's leading record companies ahead of launching its flagship 'Comes With Music' service for handsets later this year.
The company is thought to be in the final round of negotiations with Sony BMG, EMI and Warner Music, plus around 10 independent music labels, that will provide users of certain Nokia handsets with the option of purchasing the music tracks from these content owners.
"We have negotiations and discussions ongoing with all the majors and a number of indies as well," commented Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's executive vice-president. "Certainly our target is to have other labels on board."
Nokia said it is talking to the music companies about a revenue sharing agreement for Comes With Music, and Mr. Vanjoki said similar arrangements might be possible with some mobile operators. He highlighted the potential for the operators to share revenue derived from transactions resulting from Comes With Music, such as sales of T-shirts that feature people's favourite artists.
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