Nokia will be shutting down its Ovi Music Unlimited (also known as Comes With Music) service in 27 countries due to lack of interest, Reuters reports. The service will stay live only in select markets including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa.
The service provided customers with unlimited, free music downloads included in the price of the phone, and was backed up by Vivendi’s Universal Music, EMI, Warner Music Group and Sony. However, the music was protected with DRM (Digital Rights Management) software and tied to the device, which drove off many users. “The markets clearly want a DRM-free music service,” said a spokesman for Nokia.
Ovi Music Unlimited users will still have access to their old tracks after the service is shut down, but they won’t be able to buy new tracks. Nokia will continue to run its music store in 38 countries, where users can purchase DRM-free music tracks.
[via Reuters]
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