Sina Technology News, afternoon news on April 8th, the news of legal battles between record companies and Internet enterprises is still fresh in people's minds. However, today Nokia and its partners have collaborated with major record companies to jointly launch the "Music On Demand" service for free download of legitimate music. In an exclusive interview with Sina Technology, a senior executive of Nokia stated that this service will redefine the digital music industry chain. Due to copyright and fee issues, record companies previously had many conflicts with Internet enterprises, resulting in continuous lawsuits. Even Apple's iTunes Music Store charges for legitimate music and implements DRM protection.
Today, Nokia has partnered with Shenzhen Huadong Feitian to jointly launch the "Music On Demand" service. According to Deng Yuankai, Vice President of Nokia Global and Deputy Chairman of Nokia (China), consumers can use eight Nokia phones or log into relevant websites via computer to download and enjoy hundreds of thousands of legitimate songs, with a commitment of free and unlimited downloads within one year. Consumers can also freely share among various devices without being restricted by digital rights management (DRM Free).
"In the past, it was unimaginable for record companies to provide music without DRM. Since 2000, the era of digital music has arrived. Unfortunately, record companies and the Internet have not reached an agreement, resulting in a 'double loss' situation," said Liu Xiaosong, chairman of Huadong Feitian, in an exclusive interview with Sina Technology. "After nearly ten years of effort, I believe today that record companies and Internet companies can reach a cooperative model. We are facing a new market and a new opportunity. If we do not seize it, the market will be lost."
Deng Yuankai mentioned that Nokia has launched similar services in 29 countries and regions abroad, but only in the Chinese market has it eliminated DRM protection. "I believe that digital music entering China requires some breakthroughs. Currently, China is the first market globally where the 'Music On Demand' service eliminates DRM."
"The 'Music On Demand' service at a new historical stage will redefine the digital music industry chain," said Shen Zhouquan, Director of Live Product Marketing for Nokia Greater China Region, in an interview with Sina Technology. Through the 'Music On Demand' service, consumers can obtain legitimate music for free, and musicians can truly receive their due rewards. "Nokia currently has over 1.3 billion mobile phone users worldwide. In the future, many Chinese Mandarin music creators can use this vast platform to promote Chinese music creation to the world, and foreign musicians can also benefit from the Chinese market," said Deng Yuankai. For Nokia itself, "the launch of the 'Music On Demand' service can become one of the reasons why consumers are willing to buy Nokia products."
The following is the transcript of this exclusive interview:
Host: Hello, netizens of Sina! Welcome to the guest chat room for the China launch of 'Music On Demand'. Sitting next to me are Mr. Deng Yuankai, Vice President of Nokia Global and Deputy Chairman of Nokia China, and Mr. Liu Xiaosong, Chairman of Huadong Feitian. Welcome to both of you. Just now, I discussed with Mr. Deng that Chinese consumers are particularly interested in free mobile music, so please introduce the vision behind the joint launch of the 'Music On Demand' service by Nokia and Huadong Feitian.
Deng Yuankai: China is a very large music market and also the largest mobile phone market in the world. By providing 'Music On Demand' in collaboration with Huadong Feitian, we aim to enhance the overall music experience in the market. This experience includes high-quality music that is legal. High-quality music combined with the ability to enjoy music anytime and anywhere on PCs and mobile phones is something that consumers greatly appreciate.
Host: Why did you choose to cooperate with Huadong Feitian? What advantages do you see in them?
Deng Yuankai: As a global company, when launching 'Music On Demand' in many places around the world, we often look for important markets for our external trade. 'Music On Demand' must make local consumers feel that it suits their tastes and can be enjoyed. Huadong Feitian is a powerful local music company with a successful history, whether in content, technology, or operational models, all of which are very successful in the industry. The cooperation between Nokia, a global company, and Huadong Feitian, a strong local company, provides music services that are absolutely loved and enjoyed by local consumers.
Host: Consumers are looking forward to this. Please, Mr. Liu, introduce the cooperation model between the two parties and the roles each plays in the cooperation.
Liu Xiaosong: It should be said that 'Music On Demand' is a product developed and launched by Huadong Feitian. Nokia owns the largest market share in the global mobile phone industry. Through the combination of the two, I believe we can offer the large amount of content and local operational experience owned by Huadong Feitian to domestic consumers, as well as to foreign consumers interested in original Chinese music. Huadong Feitian has long awaited such a situation. Earlier, we worked with some key domestic partners to promote the development of legitimate music. After a long period of effort, some progress has been made. Now, with Nokia, we are introducing 'Music On Demand' and Huadong Feitian to consumers, and the legitimate situation will greatly promote China's music industry. Over the past five years, Huadong Feitian has accumulated more than 70,000 songs and over 10,000 artists and creators. Through the internet method for publication, distribution, and direct access to consumers, I believe this way will bring great surprises to existing mobile phone users and those who are about to purchase new Nokia phones. At the same time, it will also bring more original works to consumers, all in a legitimate manner. This is what I have been expecting and promoting.
Host: Thank you, Mr. Liu.
Liu Xiaosong: Let me add that the 70,000+ songs are all original Chinese music. This release goes far beyond that, including collaborations with various record companies, both international and domestic, offering a total of hundreds of thousands of songs.
Deng Yuankai: As Mr. Liu mentioned, Huadong Feitian has 70,000+ original songs, and 'Music On Demand' offers hundreds of thousands of songs.
Host: Legitimate free music will be highly anticipated by consumers. How do both of you view the space in China's digital music market?
Deng Yuankai: I believe that for digital music to enter China, we need some breakthroughs. What kind of breakthroughs? We need to increase awareness of the demand for legitimate music and improve the overall experience for society and consumers. 'Music On Demand' can be achieved on mobile phones, PCs, and the internet, offering a very good overall experience. Through this cooperation and service launch, we hope the market will have greater acceptance and demand for legitimate music, creating more space in the industry and more innovation in business models. This allows musicians to truly receive their rightful returns in China's vast market, enabling the entire Chinese music industry to flourish. We will then see more original creations. Given our global scale, Nokia currently has over 1.3 billion users worldwide using our phones. We hope to leverage this vast global platform so that many Chinese Mandarin music creators can use it to promote Chinese creations to the world, allowing other consumers, no matter where they are in the world, to enjoy Chinese music.
Host: I think Mr. Liu also agrees that the 'Music On Demand' service represents a breakthrough for the digital music era. There are other operators in the domestic digital music market. How do you view the significance and value of the breakthrough represented by 'Music On Demand'?
Liu Xiaosong: Digital music in China and even worldwide is just getting started, with immense potential. Think back to the CD era when music brought great joy to everyone. But in the digital music era, this joy has been somewhat diminished because good operational and business models have not yet been established. Record companies and network, mobile phone music providers, including internet companies and operators, have differing views on this field. However, after nearly ten years of effort and common pursuit, I believe today that from record companies to internet companies, a cooperative model can be reached. Today, 'Music On Demand' represents a breakthrough. It was unimaginable before that record companies could remove DRM (Digital Rights Management) and provide music. Starting last year, the four major record companies also realized the need for innovation, as Mr. Deng mentioned - innovation is necessary in China and globally because a new era has arrived. We are facing a new market and a new opportunity. If we don't seize it, the market will disappear. Our common challenge is not how to compete with other providers; that's not the most important issue. The most critical issue is how to reduce piracy while improving consumer experience. That's a much harder problem. I believe 'Music On Demand' represents a significant innovation and a positive situation. I am confident it will help legitimize music, promote music creation, and drive music consumption.
Host: Both of you mentioned that this model is relatively innovative, transformative, and groundbreaking. To my knowledge, the Comes With Music service has already been launched in other regions by Nokia. Could you, Mr. Deng, introduce the development status in those regions?
Deng Yuankai: 'Music On Demand' was launched approximately 18 months ago and has been introduced in 29 markets globally. So far, our development has been quite successful, and we will continue to expand to more markets. For example, these 29 markets over 18 months represent a very rapid global rollout of digital music. Compared to iTunes, which operates in a smaller market than ours, we hold very high expectations. Given Nokia's scale, we aim to enhance the consumer experience in mobile music. Development in the BRIC countries has been excellent, making us the only ones in such a large market like China. Of course, we hope that as the leading brand and largest market share holder for mobile phones in China, Nokia will lead in the digital music sector, which is our current goal.
Host: We know that mobile phones are no longer just terminals but are connected to services and platforms. The launch of 'Music On Demand' also adapts to this trend. Previously, we knew Nokia had an Ovi service platform. How does the 'Music On Demand' service differ from and position relative to Ovi?
Deng Yuankai: Ovi is our overall service brand. Within Ovi, there is Ovi Music, and 'Music On Demand' is part of Ovi. Additionally, there are others, including the Ovi Store and other information services, etc. This reflects Nokia's transformation from a mobile phone company to an internet service company. Ovi serves as the overall service brand, and 'Music On Demand' is a component of it.
Host: The launch of such an attractive service for consumers should drive Nokia's market development. What are your expectations regarding this?
Deng Yuankai: I've mentioned that Nokia will continue to launch various different services. We believe music is an entertainment form that attracts almost everyone, regardless of age. If we continuously expand our music offerings, it will be highly appealing to the entire market. Of course, we hope this will become a reason for many consumers to choose Nokia products.
Host: It should be very tempting. Do you both have confidence in a healthy music market in China?
Liu Xiaosong: I mentioned earlier that since 2000, the era of digital music has arrived. At that time, a typical situation was the emergence of B2B. Unfortunately, record companies and the internet failed to reach agreements, resulting in a 'double loss' scenario. In subsequent years, digital music remained in a developmental stage. In 2005, legitimate music releases significantly boosted market growth. Huadong Feitian has consistently operated A8.com for original music. Nowadays, we see many record companies ceasing physical album releases due to severe piracy. We've promoted internet-based efforts, thus having 70,000 songs and tens of thousands of active creators online. Waiting until today, with 'Music On Demand' offering legitimate music to consumers, I believe this caters to user experience and emotional aspects, achieving a win-win situation. I consider this highly significant.
Host: Digital music now has two channels: the internet and mobile internet. Mr. Deng, what are your expectations for these two channels?
Deng Yuankai: China is the world's largest internet market and also the world's largest mobile internet market. I believe mobile internet will grow faster than traditional internet, and eventually, mobile internet will surpass traditional internet. Because having the internet always at your fingertips is the easiest way to deliver value, and instant access to music is extremely valuable. Therefore, we have great confidence in mobile internet.
Host: Thank you both. That concludes today's interview.