A new study commissioned by the British recording industry has concluded that iTunes and not file sharing are to blame for the dramatic decrease in sales, reported The Register.
The Capgemini report calculates that of $983 million lost by the UK music industry since 2004, $787 million was principally the result of the unbundling of albums into an "a la carte" song downloads. Only 18% was lost to piracy. Along the way, digital player manufacturers like Apple and new media companies like MySpace have profited greatly.
"Do you think Edgar Allan Poe could have made money if he sold The Raven separately from 30 other poems?" analyst Jim Griffen asked way back in 2004.
The answer could lie in finding what bundle the untethered consumer is willing to may for or with new models where music is the promotional draw to profits from sponsorships, concert tickets, merchandise and more.
