The Associated Press' Bruce Meyerson reports that Verizon Wireless will no longer be charging a $15 monthly fee for access to music downloads over its V CAST service.

That change is taking place in conjuction with the launch of the incredibly cool LG VX8500 Chocolate phone/MP3 player, which features an iPod-like click wheel and a storage card that holds up to 1,000 songs.

"Wireless music downloads are seen as a robust new source of revenue for cellular operators now that they are investing billions of dollars to upgrade their networks for speedier data connections," Meyerson reports. "So far, carriers have been more inclined to create their own stores to capture more of the profits."

According to USA Today's Jefferson Graham, Ovum analyst Roger Entner says that by dropping the monthly fee, Verizon "now opens up the market to the youth segment. Let's be real: You want to download a song or two, you're not going to sign up for $15 a month to do that."

But Digital Trends' Geoff Duncan takes a more cynical view. "The big question is: is eliminating the monthly fee a sign of the viability of the over-the-air music store model, or a sign that V CAST is hurting for customers?" he asks. "Is the capability to purchase music over-the-air from a mobile phone so compelling that music fans are willing to do so on more than a once-in-a-blue-moon basis? Eliminating the $15/month fee may make it less painful for Verizon customers to sample the service, but how many will be so blown away that they'll keep coming back, given that the same content is available more economically from elsewhere, and can be easily transferred to the same phone?"

My bet is that they will. In the wireless world, convenience trumps cost, especially when the difference is a dollar or less.