Nokia’s Free Ovi Music Service Killed By iTunes

Nokia will end its bundled music service Ovi Music Unlimited in 27 countries, including Britain, admitting final defeat by Apple’s iTunes.

However, the Finnish handset manufacturer will continue to offer the 12-month subscription to free music downloads in China, India and Indonesia, and the 6-month subscription in Brazil, Turkey and South Africa.

Ovi Music Unlimited subscribers in the 27 countries where the service will be cancelled by the end of 2011 will get to download free music until their subscriptions run out.

According to Reuters, Nokia’s Ovi Music Unlimited service lacked operator support and failed to attract many customers since its launch in late 2008 in the UK.

Challenge to iTunes

Formerly known as Comes With Music, the service was first introduced in 38 countries and seen as a big challenge to iTunes.

Consumers who purchased a Nokia mobile phone with the Ovi Music Unlimited subscription could activate the service and download free tracks and playlists, subhect to DRM (Digital Rights Management), from the Ovi Music Store to their Nokia handsets.

However, the service has not been popular, despite support from major labels like Universal Music, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music, and has been largely superseded by DRM-free services such as downloading music from the Ovi Music Store directly, or buying tracks from Amazon. Apple’s iTunes went DRM-free in 2009.

According to reports, the copy protection locked the downloaded tunes to the phone and a PC, preventing users from playing the music with other devices, and a Nokia spokesman blamed the service’s failure on the rise of DRM-free services.

No impact on Ovi Music Store

Although Nokia is pulling the plug on Ovi Music Unlimited, the move does not affect its Ovi Music Store – a separate service that allows Nokia customers to buy DRM-free tunes from its online stores.

Meanwhile, the Finnish mobile phone maker said it is looking at alternatives to improve the Ovi experience in 2011.

“We are currently working with our partners to deliver new, innovative music services as part of the Ovi experience,” said a spokesman for Nokia.

“As we focus on delivering these… we plan to cease producing Ovi Music Unlimited-edition devices at the end of the year”.