iTunes is polishing the brass on the Titanic, argues Leigh Marriner, Leader of the Technology Studio with Cheskin. The Silicon Valley firm does strategic marketing research for companies ranging from Microsoft to HP and Coca Cola.

The future in digital music is in all-you-can-eat plans that charge a monthly subscription fee, claims the research outlet. "Our research shows that many adults who consider music an important part of their life love to discover new music and share it with their friends – and what better way than having unlimited access to a library of 900,00 songs on Napster, Rhapsody, etc," Marriner writes on Cheskin's blog.

I tend to agree, but no consumer is ready to spend $10 per month for unlimited access if peer to peer gets him a similar selection for free.

28 Dec 2004