In Strategy Analytics' report, "Can Nokia
Challenge Apple's Digital Music Dominance," Nokia's
potentially game-changing service, "Comes with Music," that bundles
music access with mobile phones is examined.
The major drivers for mobile
music are in place, but service adoption has not been as strong as many
predicted. Strategy Analytics survey data shows that although 83% of
respondents use their phones to play music, only 6% of music tracks on
devices are from mobile stores, a clear disappointment to mobile
operators "Strategy Analytics data shows that price and selection
are the most important factors in a customer's choice of music store,
and that brand loyalty is extremely low. In this environment, even
Apple cannot count on retaining users when competing with an offer that
seems free to the end user," said David MacQueen, Director of the
Strategy Analytics
Wireless Media Strategies service and author of the
report. "Comes with Music and other bundled services, should they
succeed, offer a lifeline to the music labels which have seen revenues
decline sharply in the digital age," he added.
Strategy Analytics notes "Comes with Music' is Nokia's
biggest step so far in its transition from a hardware company to a
software and services strategy. There are some key unanswered questions
and challenges to overcome, but our survey data shows clear latent
demand for such an offering. 84% of respondents were willing to pay for
a service such as 'Comes with Music'."