Here's the relevant extract, as reported by Channelnewsasia
Adam Mirabella, director, Global Digital Music Retail, Nokia, said: "We have dialogues going with all of our partners and Digital Rights Management-free (DRM-free) is also on the roadmap for the future integration of 'Comes With Music'."
The current DRM restrictions are certainly an obstacle to wide spread adoption of Comes with Music. Together with the limited availability (both handsets and markets) and issues with communicating the offers to consumers it is one of the main reasons that Comes with Music has yet and, in its current form, is unlikely to threaten 'traditional' digital music sales.
However a DRM free subscription service would have the potential to very rapidly disrupt the current business models for digital music sales.
It is worth sounding a note of caution - intentions are not the same as implementations. A DRM free model will have been on the road map from the very beginning, but real world implementations will always be a compromise between the interested parties.
That said you can read some, limited, significance into the fact this was mentioned at a launch event. It is clear that the music industry is moving towards the subscription model and DRM free music, but the time scale is fluid. Nokia, as the worlds biggest music player manufacturer, is uniquely positioned to help drive change, but its scale and global reach introduce problems of their own.
As for the current purchase per download Nokia Music Store we would anticipate this going DRM free in the not too distant future. There will be far less angst from music labels about this move as it has already been widely and successfully implemented in other digital music stores.
I know I'd be the first in the queue for a DRM free Comes with Music offering, but then I'm one of the people who's already purchased Comes with Music in its current form. What about you?