Nokia launches streaming music app, MixRadio, on the mainland

Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia launched its built-in app MixRadio on the mainland last month to tap the country's growing music streaming market. The service is free and promises to spare users the irritations of unsolicited advertising.

Major players such as Spotify and Pandora have yet to reach the mainland market, and home-grown Xiami, QQ Music and Douban Radio are the most popular music streaming services available on desktop computers and mobile phones.

Nokia estimates there are 618 million potential users in the streaming market. The company says the challenge is to understand the behaviour of mainland music lovers.

Beijing-based Jamie Robertson, director of Nokia Entertainment, has been familiarising himself with the Chinese music industry since last August. "In China, with the Mando-pop market, people are very much driven by mood instead of genre as they are in the West," he says.

That's how MixRadio programs playlists, which reflect the users' tastes and preferences, he says.

Mainland users tend to have two to four different music apps on their phones, as some apps specialise in Chinese songs, while others feature an English and international repertoire. Jyrki Rosenberg, vice-president and head of Nokia Entertainment, says the MixRadio app is a one-stop service that simplifies the download process.