Verizon unbundles music

Verizon has unbundled the music portion of its Vcast multimedia bundle, effectively scrapping the $15 monthly hurdle needed to download digital music. Vcast is Verizon's subscription service which includes videos and games, and until today, the Vcast music store.

But hurdles still remain.

Existing Verizon subscribers won't be able to play MP3 files they've acquired through other means - functionality that was removed when the VCast Music Store was launched in January, a feature that Verizon says it will restore. (The newer LG Chocolate phone can play MP3s).

Subscribers will also need to pay $150 for a music phone and $100 for a mandatory storage card - and of course will still pay a $1.99 fee per song, which entitles them to a download over the air to the phone, as well as to a PC.

The service only works with Windows Media 10, and the purchased tracks can't be played on Apple's iPod.®