Nokia hits pause on US music launch

Nokia has suffered another set back with its global music strategy with the postponed launch of “Comes with Music” in the US.
 
The vendor which has enjoyed little traction from its global “Comes with Music” initiative which was unveiled last October, confirmed to Forbes magazine that the US launch has been postponed until 2010 with no details on date.
 
“Comes With Music,” commercially launched in the UK in October with a staggered global rollout planned. To date nine other countries have been added including markets in the Asia Pacific and South America.
 
The pause from Nokia emerged on the same day that rival Apple announced that it will make a music-related announcement on September 9 in San Francisco. Little detail was revealed on the launch other than it is rock themed. Media speculation suggests that it may be the next range of iPods and the availability of the Beatles’ back catalogue through the iTunes store.
 
The FT claims it may herald the launch of Apple’s partnership with the four largest record labels, codenamed “Cocktail”.
 
In its race to keep up with Apple, Nokia has restructured its handset and services operations.
 
Last week Nokia announced it would integrate mobile internet services and the handset segment under a new unit that will launch on October 1.