If you happen to be a Verizon Wireless subscriber, you’re probably all too familiar with the mandatory monthly subscription fee in order to download tunes on the go. While the flat rate may be to your advantage during your heavier months, it can become quite a burden if you don’t make use of the service as much. No longer, because Verizon Wireless is ditching its old ways and converting VCAST into a pay-as-you-go system, charging on a per-download basis.

A single song under this new regime would cost you $1.99 plus data fees to download directly to your phone. Alternatively, you can save yourself a buck and get the song onto your PC first, transferring the music file onto your mobile handset yourself.

Verizon Wireless announced this new system to coincide with the new music-centric Chocolate phone from LG. Interestingly, if you want to load up that 1GB microSD card full of songs (on average 4MB apiece), it’ll cost you $500, more than the phone itself.