On Tuesday, Sony BMG, a major player in the recording game, announced that it has teamed up with Nokia in a project that would allow users of certain Nokia devices to gain access to its music catalogue.

The plan is as follows: once the customers pay for one of these devices, they get unlimited access (and also free) to all Sony BMG artists for one year. After this prolonged sampling period, in order to continue to enjoy their music, users will be given two options to choose from: to purchase downloadable songs from the Nokia Music store or to join a subscription service.

"We think this business model will encourage users to sample a wide range of material, expand their musical tastes, and listen to more music than ever before," Thomas Hesse, Sony BMG's President of Global Digital Business, recently said. Sony BMG’s artist list includes big names such as Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Alicia Keys and the Foo Fighters.

Thus, with the support of a company such as Sony, Nokia’s "Comes with music" service is really beginning to make a name for itself. The "Comes with music" library will be transferable to PCs and to a new Nokia handheld; however, users won’t be able to transfer it to certain non-compatible devices, such as iPods.

The service is expected to be launched sometime in the second half of 2008 but information as to where and on which phones hasn’t been made public yet.