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Sep. 11, 2008

On September 4, Nokia said it will launch Comes With Music in the United Kingdom, in partnership with more than 800 Carphone Warehouse stores.

Now some are starting to ask, when is it coming to the U.S.?

The mobile handset maker still hasn’t answered that question yet, but it’s starting first in the U.K. for several reasons.

The digital market in the United Kingdom is highly mature. Nokia has relationships with labels there and the infrastructure is in place, according to Paul Smith, head of Major Label Relations at Nokia, who spoke during a keynote at Mobile Entertainment Live!

Additionally, it doesn’t hurt that Nokia’s handset market share is much higher there than in the U.S. market.

Another person on stage with Smith was bullish on Nokia’s endeavors.

Michael Nash, executive vice president of Digital Strategy & Business Development for Warner Music Group, said it’s all about making scale happen, as opposed to a lot of the ala carte offerings out there now.

“I think you’re going to see scale achieved with this type of approach,” he said.

Make no mistake, the United States is still a key market for Nokia, but the company wants to make sure it offers the right content deals for the region and localization will play a role, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, Nash said.

“We will be there when we’re ready to be there.”

Smith also noted that in 2007, Nokia announced it wanted to become an Internet company, and the stand-alone businesses such as Comes With Music, as well as other services such as gaming and mapping, are areas where Nokia intends to become profitable.

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    This article was featured on Business 5.0 and on Tech Blog.

Source: Nokia.