4 Alternatives To Virgin Media's Unlimited Music Offer

Virgin is set to offer a free unlimited DRM-free music download service for as little as £15 although there are several roadblocks ahead that could derail the scheduled launch for the end of the year.

Apart from the fact that Universal Music has been announced as the only partner for the time being, there is the fact that other potential rivals may come before Virgin debuts the service. Indeed there are several similar "unlimited" offers currently on the market for cheaper and offering a wider choice of tracks than Virgin's.

(1) Datz Music Lounge

It would certainly have been simpler for Virgin Media to offer free Datz Music Lounge download packages to its customers. At £89.99 (available from Ebuyer), the Music lounge punts itself as "revolutionary new way to buy and enjoy music". There's a one off cost and you can download as many songs as you want over a year.

All tracks are in MP3 format and DRM free which means that it can go on every music player on the market. Plus you will be able to keep them forever even after the first year. They have more than 234,000 artists featured and "millions of tracks".

It is compatible with MacOSX and Windows XP/Vista. The average cost per month would be £7.50, less than the £15 Virgin is expected to charge. The broadband provider could even bring down the price to around £6.25 a month or £75 a year.