Analysis: Virgin Media’s unique unlimited music service

Virgin Media's unlimited digital music service, which was announced earlier today, uniquely contains both a carrot and a stick for music fans. The carrot is unlimited MP3 downloads, while the stick is the threat of temporary internet suspensions for illegal downloaders.Users will pay a monthly subscription fee for the service, and although details weren't announced today, Virgin Media and launch partner Universal Music Group have confirmed to Music Ally that it will cost “less than the price of two CDs a month”.There will also be a lower priced scheme which will allow users to download a set number of downloads each month. Both tiers will also allow unlimited streams. Virgin has confirmed that it's already in discussions with other labels and publishers, and hopes to have as many as possible on board for a scheduled UK launch “before Christmas”.The announced deal is reminiscent of the original Virgin music service which some other news sources suggested had been shelved back in February. But there are crucial differences from the original plan.Firstly, this is not a legally licensed file sharing service. Previously there had been rumours that Virgin was considering some kind of hybrid service which may have included the ability for [...]