Nokia and EMI Music announce global marketing and content agreement

EMI will be the exclusive major label provider of music content for the retail program, and new content from its artists will be added and featured every 60 days.

Today's agreement comes at a time when demand for mobile entertainment continues to rise at a rapid rate. According to Gartner, global spending on mobile music from ringtones to full-track downloads is expected to reach $32.2 billion by 2010, an increase of nearly two and a half times this year's predicted $13.7 billion. To capitalize on this trend, Nokia has entered the market with music-enabled phones such as the Nokia N91 and Nokia 5300 XpressMusic, which allow people to conveniently carry their music with them wherever they go. On the content side, EMI's digital revenues continue to climb, and mobile products represent one of the fastest growing segments. As an example, EMI Music's revenues from mobile products increased 154% year-on-year from fiscal 2005 to 2006.

"With the proliferation of music-enabled phones, more people are using them not just to talk, but to listen to, discover and buy music," said Barney Wragg, Head of Digital for EMI Music worldwide. "We're happy to be working with Nokia because so many of our goals are aligned, and we expect that our artists will benefit from global exposure and the chance to be heard among the millions of fans who use Nokia's cool new handsets."

The companies are collaborating to introduce consumers to new mobile entertainment products through hands-on experiences with new music on the mobile platform at multiple Nokia consumer touch points. For example, Nokia's six flagship stores around the globe will feature in-store videos and point of sale material featuring EMI artists, its retail staff will use EMI artist content to demonstrate its newest music-enabled handsets, and EMI content will also be prominently featured on select Nokia consumer websites. Consumers can obtain free downloads, wallpapers, videos, ringtones and more from the EMI Featured Artists via in-store demos, which may include lessons in side-loading content.

"Mobile entertainment represents a major growth opportunity for us and our artists and it also provides fans with a cool, convenient and enjoyable legal way to experience their favorite artist's music," said Jeff Kempler, COO Capitol Music Group. "This compelling new program with Nokia - the world's #1 handset manufacturer - provides global exposure for our artists, and will get music fans more excited about and comfortable with, acquiring music through mobile devices."

Each Nokia Flagship Store features a dynamic retail environment with state-of-the-art multimedia displays. These displays invite guests to try out the features of a wide range of Nokia products, while giving fans access to exclusive mobile content from EMI artists. In 2005, the Nokia Theatre opened in Times Square, bringing top-name music and other live entertainment acts into a 2,100 seat venue in the heart of Manhattan. The company also opened a series of Nokia Experience Centers that offer additional opportunities to learn and explore the possibilities offered by Nokia products.

"Nokia is about much more than just manufacturing phones. Nokia is about connecting people, and nothing brings people closer together than music and conversation," said Jo Harlow, senior vice president of marketing for Nokia. "It's only natural that leading companies like EMI and Nokia would combine their respective expertise in much the same way, making mobile music more accessible to people via a new and innovative joint marketing program" - Nokia.