Music industry set to embrace free downloads

I see the music industry has decided if you can't beat the pirates, join them! This article says 2009 will be a year in which many cellphone companies and online services providers start offering "free" unlimited as part of their service contracts. This development may not bode well for iTunes.

"Online and mobile services offering listeners unlimited “free” access to millions of songs are set to proliferate in the coming months, according to music industry executives.Unlike illegal file-sharing services, which the music industry says are responsible for billions of dollars in lost sales, these new offerings are perfectly legal. The services are not really free, but payment is included in the cost of, say, a new cellphone or a broadband Internet access contract, so the cost to the consumer is disguised. And, unlike pirate sites, these services provide revenue to the music companies."