] The music industry has been spoiled. They have controlled
] the distribution of music by producing CDs, and thereby
] have also protected their profits. So they have resisted
] Internet distribution. Six years ago I asked Sony Music
] to start working with IBM to figure out how to offer
] secured distribution of their content over the Net. But
] nobody in Sony Music would listen. Then about six months
] ago, they started to panic.

A very candid conversation with the CEO of Sony.

] The music industry has been spoiled. They have controlled
] the distribution of music by producing CDs, and thereby
] have also protected their profits. So they have resisted
] Internet distribution. Six years ago I asked Sony Music
] to start working with IBM to figure out how to offer
] secured distribution of their content over the Net. But
] nobody in Sony Music would listen. Then about six months
] ago, they started to panic.

] Nokia is focused on volume—selling as many cell phones as
] possible at a low price. But in my observation, I am not
] sure they know very clearly what the real opportunity is
] in the telephone business. We are talking about secure
] distribution of music on the phone.

Nokia and Sony were the primary investors behind a music searching technology company I worked at. One of the key areas of interest was cell phones. Granted, that particular R&D thread is probably dead to both Nokia and Sony, due to who bought the company.