Is VCast absolutely necessary to transfer music from PC to a Verizon cell phone? Are there ways around paying for VCast? Is it possible to transfer music without it?

I don't have VCast on my Verizon phone. (It is a Samsung SCH-a930) Verizon's phones will only play WMA files, but if you place them on a microSD card with a computer, you can insert that card into most phones and play them.

Windows Media player will allow you to RIP cd's to the WMA format.