Nokia and Universal Music Publishing Group Sign Deal forRing Tones in Asia-Pacific Region

Nokia and Universal Music Publishing Group Sign Deal forRing Tones in Asia-Pacific Region

Nokia, the world’s leading mobile phone brand has signed an agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the world's leading music publishers, for the licensing of musical compositions for ring tones for mobile phones in the Asia Pacific region.The agreement enables

Nokia to have access to a comprehensive and diverse range of music repertoire, with particular focus on Asian music. The regional licensing agreement, which is non-exclusive, covers rights to Universal Music Publishing Group's song catalog where it owns or controls digital rights. It does not include the rights to Universal Music Group's owned or controlled master recording catalog.

For UMP Asia, the agreement signals a strategic step to growing the market in Asia, by delivering its repertoire of music to consumers through a volume distribution channel such as Nokia mobile phones. This collaboration between two leading industry players in mobile communications and music will offer an innovative and greater range of mobile phones ringing tones to Nokia phone users, enabling them to enjoy a richer user experience.

Nigel Rundstrom, Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Nokia Mobile Phones Asia Pacific, commented, "We are pleased to enter into this licensing deal with UMP Asia. The development of mobile communication technologies has made the mobile phone a preferred personal device that connects consumers to services beyond voice communication.

Nokia's aim is to add value to our terminals through service offerings that are optimized for Nokia terminals to bring a richer user experience. This includes a wide choice of ringing tones and mobile music contents. The cooperation with UMP Asia strongly complements Nokia's efforts." He added, "Nokia will continue to build strategic alliances with content owners in the area of music and entertainment to bring relevant and interesting mobile entertainment and services to Nokia phone users."

Nokia has had a successful history in pioneering innovative features to support personalised services, such as ringing tones and ringing tone composer capabilities in its mobile phones. This is part of the Smart Messaging technology which is based upon an open specification that Nokia developed, to bring features such as ringing tones, picture messaging and pictorial logos in Nokia mobile phones since 1997.