LONDON, England – The concept for Comes with Music was first uttered publicly by Nokia back in December 2007, since triggering a full spectrum of opinions ranging from positive anticipation to fierce gut-felt cynicism. What is undisputed and exciting, however, is that this is a mould-breaking service that is igniting debate, pushing boundaries and perhaps, could fundamentally change the entire landscape of how we going about digesting music, directly or indirectly. Interesting times in tunes-ville.

So as a UK dweller I was stoked to hear today’s news that Comes with Music is going to debut in my neck of the woods first, later this year, debuting on the 5310 XpressMusic handset available through Carphone Warehouse. Playing the guinea pig is gonna be interesting…

Like many, in recent years my music collection has morphed into a mash-up of ripped CDs (that I paid money for – I should probably throw that in) and a healthy dollop of downloaded tracks (some of which i paid for). And the scales are beginning to tip towards the latter. Now, with this comes the DRM issue, which exists as a mostly inescapable reality, which I’ve come to live with, rightly or wrongly. And although it rears its head in the Comes with Music scenario, the goalposts have shifted. Why? Purely as a result of the nature in which this set-up enables you to digest unlimited amounts of content in a dip-in-dip out fashion. Surely this opens the debate even wider as to where the true value lies in ‘owning’ music or a music collection – is limited DRM-shackled access to everything better than total free-reign ownership of less content? Am I tying myself up in knots here? Either way, I’m keen to find out, although I’m pretty certain it’ll only become clear in another few years.

Does ownership matter to you? Can virtual ownership ever really feel tangible?

Executive Vice President and Head of the Nokia Entertainment and Communities business, Tero Ojanperä, had this to say:

“We believe that Comes With Music will transform the way people enjoy music. With unlimited music access for a year, you can enjoy your favorite artists or delve into new genres without having to worry about individual track or album purchases.”

This was echoed by Simon Ainslie, Nokia UK Managing Director:

“Comes With Music is the most compelling digital music offer ever introduced to the UK. You get a fantastic Nokia device with unlimited access for a year to a huge catalog of music.”

What’s your first reaction? Let us know below.