Many folks have weighed in on Spiral Frog's announcement of its deal with UMG today.  Based on what I've read (I have yet to try the service), I'm skeptical that it will move the needle in digital music.  The DRM required and the constraints such as having to log onto their site once a month may be too much to attract a mass market. 

That's not to say the idea is a bad one.  Offering consumers an ad supported option makes sense as many will opt for this instead of paying a premium.  For instance, I think ad supported content will prove popular in the mobile platform.  I might choose to sit through an ad or series of ads instead of being dinged for the ringtone I want to download.  Like the free PC companies back in the 90s, adverse selection is an issue -- the people that choose to not pay will often be the people advertisers don't want to reach. 

At any rate, Spiral Frog looks to have an extensive management team and has been flying under the radar for a while.  They and UMG should be lauded for trying a different approach to music distribution and, if anyone can sell ads, it ought to be Spiralfrog given the background of their CEO.  But this will come down to execution and I fear that there will be too many hoops for consumers to jump through.  I hope I'm wrong.

Next week, I'll write about a new music business model that I'm more optimistic about.