Nokia Comes with Music to come DRM-free?

Exec confirms dropping DRM is "on the roadmap"

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3 March 2009 10:14 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

We already know Nokia has big plans for its Comes with Music service with more handsets planned, but it seems those plans may include dropping its restrictive digital rights management.

The service is currently offered with select phones and gives the owner one year's worth of free, unlimited music downloads from a library of millions.

The only hitch with the offering is that the music can only be downloaded to one PC, and side loaded to one phone, so the tracks cannot be transferred and are only good for the life of the hardware.

Although the relatively low cost means it can be argued that Comes with Music is still good value, it has not yet proved to be a roaring success.

Dropping the DRM could turn the service from a nice extra into a killer offering, and it seems Nokia has plans to do just that - record labels permitting.

Adam Mirabella, director of global digital music retail for Nokia recently said in an interview with Channel Asia News:

"We have dialogues going with all of our partners and digital rights management-free (DRM-free) is also on the roadmap for the future integration of Comes with Music".

Strengthening the service isn't likely to prove popular with operators, already said to be wary of the Comes with Music proposition, but it would certainly appeal to consumers.

We will keep you posted.