Verizon Adds 5m MP3s, Tiered Pricing to Music Store

Verizon Wireless is joining the DRM-free music revolution by adding five million MP3 files to its Media Store. Even more interesting, starting next Tuesday, it will introduce tiered pricing for the individual tracks, something the record labels have been trying to get the online music stores to do since their inception.

New releases and best-sellers will go for $1.29 each, while all other current tunes will go for 99 cents apiece. Most classic catalog tracks can be had for only 69 cents each.

Because the tracks are all in the MP3 format, they’re not tethered to a single PC and your Verizon phone – they’ll play on any MP3 music device (which includes iPods, but you probably won’t be hearing that from Verizon).