With global music sales down for a seventh straight year, the talk at an annual industry meeting in Cannes, France, has become heated over how to develop digital sales against competition from the dreaded F word--free.
Global sales are expected to be down again for 2006 despite digital sales almost doubling to $2 billion and the popularity of music being as strong as ever.
Critics of the major players in the industry argue that they have been distracted by the fight against piracy and in doing so, hindered the growth of the legal business.
In response, the accused argue that they had little choice.
Many people around the world tell me that we`ve handled our problems in an incorrect manner but no one tells me what we should have done," John Kennedy, the head of the industry`s trade body IFPI, told news agecies in an interview.
"Free is just impossible to compete with".
Much of the debate at the gathering on the French coast has centered around the concept of digital rights management or DRM which can restrict the use of music bought online and was introduced in a bid to contain piracy.
Its supporters say DRM also offers alternative methods such as subscription or advertising-supported services as the music cannot then be offered onto peer-to-peer networks.
But one result of DRM is that tracks bought legally from Web sites such as Rhapsody cannot be used on the market-leading iPod as they are not compatible, potentially restricting the growth of legal sales.
"DRM is like polonium to some people," Kennedy said. "Digital rights management is exactly that, it`s the management of digital rights and if we weren`t managing it the headlines would be `irresponsible music industry ... creates anarchy.`"
Source:Hindustanis.org
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