The music industry has got to be prepared to give music away for free, according to analysts Screen Digest. In a study of 27 countries including the UK, US and western Europe, Screen Digest predicts mobile music sales will double from €1.6 billion (£1.26 billion) this year to €3.2 billion (£2.52 billion) in 2012.

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But full-track downloads will only make up half of that, with the rest still coming from things like ringtones. The report warns “paying for music is progressively becoming a niche activity as the value of recorded music is already in steep, possibly terminal, decline”. Mobile music subscription services like Nokia’s Comes With Music will be worth €928 million (£731 million) by 2012, it is predicted - almost double that of “al a carte” full track downloads on €508 million (£408 million). But the report says it is “almost impossible” to compete with Apple’s iTunes - a service they say is only “around break even” anyway - and if there is to be competition, the wholesale price of tracks must come down considerably. Release.