Rockin’ in the free world with Nokia Music

A world of free music streaming comes to your Lumia with this customizable app from Nokia

Imagine an application that brings access to a vast global catalogue of 17 million songs, available to listen to online and offline, and ad free without ever having to sign up or pay a monthly fee? That application is here.

It’s Nokia Music, which launched exclusively for Nokia Lumia in the United States a couple of weeks ago, and will feature prominently on the forthcoming Windows Phone 8 devices like the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 smartphones.

Download the Nokia Music app

1. Press the Search button on your Nokia Lumia and then tap Vision
2. Scan the QR code
3. Tap on the link when it appears on the screen
4. Install the application from the Windows Phone Marketplace

While eager Windows Phone 8 fanciers will have to wait a little while longer to access the app, owners of the existing Lumia devices can download the free app today by using the QR code to the right.

Once you open the app from the Nokia Lumia 900, 800 or 710 you’ll notice that you’re not asked to sign up for an account. The listening can begin immediately, without handing over personal information or credit card details.

You’ll see from the Nokia Music homescreen a series of menu options. One is My Music, which takes you to the tunes you have stored locally on your phone or the files that you have purchased or added to the device from your computer. Any music you purchase using this app will end up here too.

Mixing it up

Selecting Mix Radio instantly opens up a world of pre-curated playlists from a large array of genres. You can select from Top Charts like The Billboard Top 100, Decade Mixes and much, much more. There’s even playlists from artists like Green Day, Rihanna and Lana Del Rey, with more playlists by new artists being added all the time. 

There are many music streaming services that offer offline playlists for those times when connectivity or monthly data allowances are at a premium. However, most of them charge a pretty penny each month for the privilege of going off the grid. 

Mix Radio allows for playlists to be made available offline free of charge or subscription. All you have to do is ‘long press’ on a playlist and select ‘Make available offline’. As the playlists are constantly evolving as the weeks go on, simply refresh them to ensure they’re perfectly up to date. You can download up to 14 hours to listen to offline at any one time. All playlists, online or offline, can be pinned easily to the Windows Phone Start Screen.

Creating A Mix

If you’re a picky playlist curator like myself, then you may want to rock a custom playlist. You can do this by selecting ‘Create A Mix’ from within the Mix Radio section. 

Contrary to rival services, here you can add up to THREE artists from which to form the Custom Radio station, which beautifully narrows down the list to ensure you get just what you want.

If you create a playlist using Green Day, The Offspring and New Found Glory, you’re sure to get an almighty selection of the world’s finest pop-punk. 

All of the Custom Radio stations you create can be shared to social networks or via email. 

Getting Personal

Another neat feature of Mix Radio is the ability to create a personal music profile, which divides you up into neat percentages based on the genres of music you most enjoy. 

Select the Personalize section of Mix Radio to examine your listening history or even scan your music library in order to create the profile (for example 27 per cent Rock, 33 per cent pop, 20 per cent soul and 20 per cent R&B) and then you can easily create a Custom Station based on your profile.

Forever yours

Beyond the Mix Radio magic, there’s also a built-in music store, allowing you to permanently own a digital copy of each of the 17 million songs you may hear while listening to playlists.

Going to the show

Nokia Music is, naturally, fully integrated with Nokia Maps, allowing you to search for concerts near to you through the Gigs Finder section on the main menu. Hitting this option will identify shows going on within your vicinity. If your choice isn’t listed, simply choose the search option. 

Clicking on a show will allow you to buy tickets directly from within the app, from a range of online outlets. You can even get directions to the venue using Nokia Maps.