Perhaps realizing it can't beat back the tide of digital music downloads any longer, Vivendi Universal's recorded-music arm just announced that it will hop on board the free download train for a one-year trial.

Universal Music Group says it will make a number of new tracks – starting with U2's upcoming single, First of Your Kind, later this year – available at no cost through the SpiralFrog, a new online music service (www.spiralfrog.com).

There's a catch, however, the universal one that even crack dealers don't mention because everyone knows that all things free actually aren't. In the case of VU's music offerings, downloaders/freeloaders must agree to watch a minute and a half of commercials before they can get their musical fix. What's more, the tracks are also only good for six months, after which time they'll self-destruct.