iTMS: A Real Competitor to Come by the End of the Year?

It is not a secret, Music Majors are really annoyed by apple iTMS success. It goes from the huge market share own by iTMS on this market, to the recent victory for Apple for maintaining the same price/track format.
It could well be the reason why Universal Music has signed an agreement with SpiralFrog, to prepare a website proposing free music tracks originating from Universal Music catalog. Of course, nothing is really free, and advertisements on this website is expected to cover the costs.
This service should be launched just before Christmas time. If the music tracks will be free to download, it does not mean that they will not be protected by DRM.