Nokia Music Store goes live in UAE

Chris Braam, Vice President, Sales, Nokia Middle East and North Africa, said:

"We are very excited to be extending the Nokia Music Store to our consumers in the UAE, as the market has demonstrated that it is ready for such a service. The UAE is one of the leading regional markets in terms of digital connectivity, and has one of the highest Internet penetrations in the Arab world, with an extensive 3.5G network provided by both operators. Moreover, people here are comfortable with online purchasing, and e-commerce services in general are mature."

He added, "Nokia's leading position and the strength of our brand in this market give us the right opportunity to be offering the service here. We will continue to drive innovation to realize our vision for people to access all the music they want, anytime, anywhere and at an affordable cost."

The online store offers a monthly subscription for PC streaming. All music can be purchased using UAE credit cards.

With a single account, music lovers can access the Nokia Music Store via their desktop computer using the latest Nokia Music for PC software, which can be downloaded for free from http://music.nokia.ae. The software allows users to manage their music, create playlists, and synchronize their music library with their Nokia device. Access to the store can also be done directly from a compatible Nokia device such as Nokia N79, Nokia N85, Nokia N96, Nokia E66, Nokia E71, and the soon to arrive Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Music is provided by all major international and regional labels including Universal, Sony BMG, Warner, EMI, Rotana and leading content aggregator Qanawat, as well as thousands of independent labels. Tracks and albums cover different tastes and genres from international, Arabic and Bollywood artists.

Tom Erskine, Head of Sales, Music, Nokia, said, "People's relationship with music has changed. While we may visit a store to buy a CD, more often than not, we are downloading music and increasingly downloading that music directly to our mobile devices."

He added, "Having sold more than 300 million music enabled Nokia devices, we've been able to gain an incredible amount of knowledge and insights on what people want in a music device as well as tracking important trends on how people consume music."

Ayman Chalhoub, Business Manager, Music, Nokia Middle East and North Africa, said, "The shift to digital is happening in the UAE too. We are witnessing a decline in traditional music mediums such as cassette and CD players, with a clear shift to PC, MP3, and mobile device usage. In fact, according to our research, 80% of regular mobile and internet users in the UAE are using their mobile device to listen to music, with half of them doing so on a daily basis."

"Music downloading in the UAE is not a new phenomenon in itself; however, the way people have been accessing online music so far has been through fragmented, unreliable and illegal sources for lack of a better option. With the Nokia Music Store, we are introducing a simple and enjoyable solution that gives users the freedom of choice and the ability to experience and discover new music at an affordable cost," added Chalhoub.

Other highlights of the Nokia Music Store include the ability to listen to a 30 second clip of any track on the store before buying it. People will be able to browse for new music, get recommendations or search for their favorite artists, songs or albums all from the palm of their hand. Once a track captures their attention, users will be able to add it to their wishlist to buy later or purchase it immediately for download to a mobile device without having to download the same song again on their computer. They will also be able to transfer purchased songs via a PC to compatible Nokia devices.

Part of the Ovi by Nokia offering, the UAE Nokia Music Store is the 12th store that Nokia is rolling out globally, having already launched in Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, UK and Sweden.