Nokia announced on Tuesday that they're partnering with Warner Music Group and will develop a music service to compete with Apple's iTunes called "Comes With Music".

"Warner Music Group has been a pioneer in developing new digital music business models and we are very pleased to have them supporting both the Nokia Music Store and Comes With Music," said Tero Ojanpera, executive vice president and head of the Nokia Entertainment and Communities business. "Comes With Music enables people to access great content, provides artists to wider exposure with new and existing fans, and creates new revenue for all stakeholders."

Few details were released except that the service will launch in the second half of 2008 on some Nokia devices in unnamed regions. "With a single purchase, consumers will have access to a year of exploring and downloading the music that they love, and be able to keep all their selections in their permanent library," Nokia said.

Music formats, prices and Mac support were not specified.

Business Week on Tuesday cited experts who are skeptical of how this will work out for Nokia. It is well known that Apple makes little money on music itself and uses music sales to promote iPod hardware. However, Nokia wants to compete with the iPhone and music labels are desperate to find new venues to move music amidst declining CD sales. So the deal appears to benefit both parties.

James McQuivey with Forrester Research made the comparison with cameras. Some people use their phone as a camera, but serious photographers have a separate, better camera. He doesn't believe the mere existence of music on a Nokia phone will be compelling for serious music customers.