Jim Carrollon music
Another week, another mobile music story: this time, it's the latest unveiling of Nokia's Comes With Music.
Nokia's all-you-can-eat music service (terms and conditions apply, naturally) has now got the the Big Four major record labels plus a plethora of indies, including some imprints with acts you may have heard of, on their side.
To be launched initially in the UK on October 16th (there are tentative plans for the product to be rolled out elsewhere), Comes With Music gives the user a year of unlimited access to the Nokia Music Store catalogue and its "millions" of tracks. When the 12 months are up, you can keep all the music you've downloaded.
The cost of the service? Free - once you buy the handset, of course, which will set you back £129.99 (€167).
The devil, though, is in the detail. For a start, while users have access to millions of tracks, their downloads are limited by the capacity of the phones. Once the year ends, you can keep the (copy-protected) tracks you have downloaded, but you will have to buy a new mobile to get more tunes.
As Nokia has not yet done any deals with mobile operators, you won't be able to download the songs directly to your phone.
For Nokia, one expensive downside may be the deals with the labels, who have sharpened their game in recent times and are unlikely to have sold the family farm for a few trinkets.
Informed sources say Nokia's negotiations with the labels have been tough, with the rights holders successfully demanding a premium royalty rate.
Artists are now kicking up a stink about getting their cut from these deals, arguing that royalty deals must now address new distribution models.
Such downsides, though, have not stopped the Finnish company's rivals from competing for a slice of the pie.
Sony Ericsson's Play Now "unlimited music access service", will be launched later this year in Sweden and worldwide in 2009.
X-Music for x-musicians feeling the crunch
With Recession 2.0 now officially in full effect, songwriters up and down the land are no doubt digging out their guitars and trying to come up a catchy lyric which includes "credit crunch", "recapitalisation" and "George Lee".
Songwriters and musicians who have found that their guitars have been decommissioned since the last time they wrote a decent tune need not despair: a new music equipment store, X-Music, opens for business this weekend.
Located in Dublin's Red Cow Retail Centre, X-Music is a 20,000 sq ft, muso-friendly plaza stocking gear from such brands as Gibson, Marshall, Korg, Roland, Ibanez and many others.
Further details on what to expect in-store at www.xmusic.ie
All in a day's work
The word on Stee Downes appears to be spreading. The Dublin vocalist, DJ and multi-instrumentalist, who has also played a big role in Bodytonic's Scribble label, is seeing his All in a Daydebut album get a worldwide release, thanks to Sonar Kollektiv.
Downes has collaborated with a wide range of acts, including London's Loose Ensemble and Echoplex's Ed Eustace. All in a Daywas recorded earlier this year in Croatia with production assistance from Ishfaq.
Downes plays live at Dublin's Crawdaddy on October 26th, More information at www.myspace.com/steedownes music.
ETC
• Belfast clubbing institution Shine turns 13 on November 1st, with DJ Sneak and Green Velvet blowing out the candles.
• Scandinavian jazz trio The Thing join Japanese noise scene kingpin Otomo Yoshihide at Dublin's Andrew's Lane on November 22nd.
• Analogue marks its first birthday with "Peek!", a compilation of Irish producers and acts to coincide with the latest issue. The mag throws a party at Dublin's Twisted Pepper on October 16th.
• Over-rated Las Vegas chancers The Killers play Dublin's 02 (Feb 20th) and Belfast's Odyssey (21st)
"Pen a bit harder!" - Girls Aloud's Nicola Roberts advises Coldplay's Chris Martin, who says he has been trying to write a song for them
