Report vilifies iPod, blames Apple for holding back music industry

A BusinessWeek article cites a report from an independent analyst that weekly averages of legitimate music downloads, as of Nov. 27th, are actually down by 0.44%. Yep, a whole barely half-percent. The article also quotes Napster's CEO, Chris Gorog, who once again vilifies the iPod and Apple, blaming the two for holding back the music industry: "You have this device consumers love, but they're being restricted from buying anything other than downloads from Apple. People are bored with that."

The article's an interesting read, but I really don't think this is cause for alarm. If anything isn't helping the music industry, I'd put money down that it's the subscription services. The labels are trying to push the idea that consumers rent content; they don't buy it. While that same argument could possibly be thrown at DRM, at least I still get to play my music if I stop buying songs from the iTMS. Nevertheless, check out the BusinessWeek article for a different perspective on the iPod and the state of legitimate downloads.

[via Slashdot]