Total Music shook up the digital distribution industry when Universal announced it in October 2007. The idea was to provide unfettered, DRM-free subscription access to music from all the big four record labels for the equivalent of around $5 per month.

The twist with Total Music was that, instead of directly charging consumers the monthly fee, Universal would work with manufacturers to bundle the subscription and its price with devices, therefore making it look to consumers as if the music was practically free. While much of the plan's inner workings and details were never made public, we are not likely to hear much more about Total Music for the foreseeable future. Universal Music and Sony BMG have confirmed that Total Music is totally done.

Sources at Universal and Sony BMG, a partner brought on after Universal's original announcement, have confirmed that Total Music is "over," according to Billboard.biz. Citing limited resources in a tough economy, iTunes Store's continued dominance of the marketplace, and the rise of free, ad-supported streaming services like Last.fm, the labels have pulled Total Music's plug. In the same breath, however, one representative states that "we realized we could accomplish the same thing in some other areas where we were working." Representatives from Sony BMG and Universal have so far been unavailable to return Ars' request for further comment on what these "other areas" may be.