Nokia today announced that it has signed pan-European licensing agreements for its Comes with Music download service. This includes agreements with Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, CELAS/EMI Publishing and a number of national collecting societies (France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Finland and Norway). The announcement underlines Nokia's commitment to its music services and will enable Nokia to extend the reach of its unlimited download music service.

Pan-European music licensing deals are a relatively recent phenomenon and relatively few companies have such license agreements in place; previously companies wishing to license music would have to strike deals on a country by country basis.

From the press announcement:

"Nokia has entered into pan European licenses for its Comes With Music service with Universal Music Publishing Group, and the national collecting societies SACEM, SDRM, and SESAM (France), SGAE (Spain), and SIAE (Italy). In addition, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and the Nordic societies STIM (Sweden), TEOSTO (Finland) and TONO (Norway) have also confirmed their participation in the Comes With Music Service across Europe, and Nokia has concluded a pan European license with CELAS/EMI Music Publishing in respect of Nokia’s download service, Nokia Music Store."

As announced at the recent MIDEM conference Comes with Music is expected to reach Singapore and Australia in March. The new licensing agreement open the way for Comes with Music to launch in multiple European countries.

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