The Register reports Apple’s iTunes has experienced a collapse in sales revenues this year according to analyst co Forrester Research.

While the iTunes service saw healthy growth for much of the period, since January the monthly rev has fallen by 65%, with the average transaction size falling 17%.

And it isn’t just Apple’s problem. Nielsen Soundscan has grimmer news for prospective
digital download services, indicating three consecutive quarters of flat or declining revs for the sector as a whole.

“ITunes won’t save the music business, or Apple,” analyst
Josh Bernoff wrote in the report.

No Recovery

In 2005, iTunes sales dropped after Christmas before rising “significantly’ in May. That recovery didn’t materialize this year, Forrester said.
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The report also found that most music stored on iPods isn’t purchased from iTunes. Apple sells about 20 iTunes songs for each iPod purchased, even though the devices can store hundreds or thousands of songs.