'Ring tones paved the way for digital music'
India’s first Nokia Music Connects conference was held in Mumbai recently. Elizabeth Schimel, Global Head (Music, Entertainment and Communities), Nokia, spoke about Nokia’s contribution to the evolution of digital music. Excerpts:
What has Nokia’s role been in the digital music industry?
Digital music came into the picture in the ’90s. Nokia’s creation, the ring tone, pioneered the concept of digital music on mobile phones. Nokia rolled out its first musicenabled phone in 1997 and now we decided to bring Nokia Music to our Indian users.
What is on offer for the Indian market?
Nokia has enhanced its music collection for its 425 million music-enabled mobile users around the world. Our recently-updated catalogue of 3 million tracks for India covers 20 genres in international music and local content, i.e., songs in regional Indian languages, which makes up 90 per cent of the catalogue. Our online Voucher Store gives each “new” music-enabled mobile user a gift voucher.
What next?
Teaming up with the digital music industry and even films in India will be our strategy. We have already taken steps in this direction by partnering with Indian Music Industry (IMI) and T-series.
