T3 - Tech 100

Free music for the mobile generation.

Nokia was the first hardware company to offer something on the scale of Comes With Music, which in turn has awarded them 500,000 users globally as of July. Its chief handset, the touchscreen 5800 XpressMusic, has sold over 6.8 million units since it hit shelves in November of last year.

Whilst it’s not quite as successful as Nokia would’ve liked, it will prove to be a slow burner, with more Comes With Music compatible handsets being added, and partnerships including Universal, Sony BMG, Warner, EMI and hundreds of indie labels.

Schimel is leading it all, and is no stranger to the world of digital music, arriving at Nokia from Comcast and AT&T in the States.

She credits “Nokia's successful Comes With Music launches in Singapore and Mexico, as well as our Nokia Music Store launches in South Africa and Poland” as being key launches for Nokia in the past 12 months.