Mumbai, August 11: Nokia plans to be a game changer in the Indian handset market. The change will be by moving from a la carte mobile music offering to an all-you-can eat buffet experience.
The Finnish mobile company has more than one reason to make music the core of its marketing strategy in India.
According to a Soundbuzz-PricewaterhouseCoopers report on entertainment, India’s mobile music industry will be the world’s largest at Rs 3,600 crore by 2009-10, with the demand for full-track downloads and true tones increasing.
Vineet Taneja, director marketing, Nokia, said, “By the end of this year, Nokia will introduce ‘Comes With Music’ handsets in India that would mean a year of unlimited music downloads for the buyer — both on PC and mobile.”
Young Indians seem to be the target of all marketers, and the Finnish handset manufacturer also doesn’t want to miss out on that. A survey conducted by Music Matters among young mobile phone owners reveals over half the number of
respondents used mobile phones to listen to music.
Thailand led the way with the survey showing 70% respondents had used their phones to listen to music, followed by Hong Kong and China (63%), Vietnam (62%) and Malaysia and India (61%). “Among other value-added services, music phones have an edge among youth,” said Taneja.
The ‘Comes With Music’ initiative was launched by Nokia worldover in 2007-end in partnership with Universal Music Group International, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI, as well as other independent labels and music aggregators to bundle 12, 18, or 24 months worth of unlimited free music downloads with the purchase of a Nokia phone. “Once we launch the ‘Nokia Comes with Music’ edition in India, we’ll have something in store for the current owners of Nokia handsets in terms of free music download vouchers,” Taneja added.
To build onto its music initiative, Nokia has brought together a music forum — Nokia Music Connects –which is already present worldwide. “The industry event is envisaged as an annual gathering of the Indian music business,” he said, adding, “Music Connects is a step forward in delivering Nokia’s vision to give consumers an opportunity to be able to discover and enjoy their favourite music across genres and languages.
The event would help create a strong music and entertainment ecosystem, offering delegates the chance to connect, forge business partnerships and create new business opportunities in the realm of music. It will also help Nokia provide an incredible amount of knowledge on what people want in a music device.”
The day-long conference, supported by the umbrella organisation of the music industry, Indian Music Industry (IMI), will have a series of panels comprising various industry executives like regulatory heads, music label honchos, advertising gurus, corporate heads as well as leading creative professionals.
–Agencies