Verizon Wireless is expected to announce an update to its V Cast service that will include music downloads. The company is hosting a press conference in conjunction with Microsoft at CES on January 5th. V Cast currently consists mostly of streaming video clips from an array of providers (Comedy Central, E, NBC News, etc). It runs on the Verizon Wireless EV-DO network which covers most major US markets.
Buying a song through V Cast would also allow users to freely download the same song on their computer. Because the songs will use Microsoft DRM they will not be able to play on an iPod.
The all important pricing information was not hinted at, but it's likely to come in higher than AMP'd Mobile's $.99 figure. Sprint Nextel charges $2.50 per song and was chided in most industry reviews for the lofty price point.