Nokia Music Store opens in SA

The Nokia Music Store will also boast exclusive download rights for the MNet Idols Season 5 winner track from Monday 4 May for seven days.

“South Africans have waited a long time for a local store offering both international hits and local favourites,” said Jake Larsen, Nokia's head of music for Middle East and Africa. “The Nokia Music Store caters for a variety of tastes and, with just one account, music lovers can access the store via any desktop computer or directly from optimised Nokia devices, such as the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N96 and Nokia N95 8GB.”

Easy downloads

The store claims to have an intuitive user-interface to make downloading full-length tracks easy, as well as offering options to create customised playlists and to add tracks on a wishlist that you can decide to buy later.

Tracks purchased can also be transferred via your PC to compatible Nokia devices. The music collection can then simply be synchronised between the PC and a mobile using the Nokia music PC client available for download on the Nokia Music Store, or from the product software CD available in the latest devices' sales packs.

Music on the Nokia Music Store can be purchased through a variety of payment options, including credit cards and prepaid vouchers. Individual tracks cost R10 and an entire album can be purchased for R100. Customers to the store will also have the option to listen to a 30-second clip from any track in the store prior to purchasing.

Global alignment

Ensuring the Nokia Music Store is kept up to date with the latest tracks Nokia has aligned globally and locally with major record labels such as Sony Music, Universal, EMI, Warner and local independents including African Cream, Coolspot, Sheer and Next Music.

The store boasts a variety South African artists, including rock bands The Narrow, Snotkop and Springbok Nude Girls, electronic acts Kalahari Surfers, Goldfish and Felix Laband, a full Afrikaans genre including the likes of Kurt Darren, Piet Botha and Karen Zoid, hip hoppers Prophets of da City, Judith Sephuma, kwaito guys Tzozo and Professor, MCs like Teba, and even traditional artists like Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

South Africa is the 16th country to see a local launch of the Nokia Music Store. Most recently the store was launched in Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.

For more:

• Moral Fibre: Nokia Launches the South African Music Store