A music download service charges a flat fee each month and 0.99 per download. the total cost for downloading 27 songs this month is 42.72. how much is the flat fee?

Let the flat fee be ( x ). The total cost for downloading 27 songs at $0.99 each is ( 27 \times 0.99 = 26.73 ). Therefore, the equation for the total cost is ( x + 26.73 = 42.72 ). Solving for ( x ), we find ( x = 42.72 - 26.73 = 15.99 ). Thus, the flat fee is $15.99.