The iPhone, iPod, and stellar success of the iTunes Store are worrying music executives, who fear that all of this is giving Apple too much power over the music industry.

Reuters reports that sales of CDs, still the dominant music format, have dropped more than 20 percent in 2007 from a year ago, according to Nielsen Soundscan. Digital music sales are gradually claiming a greater portion of the business, but the transition has been slow, according to Reuters.

The arrival of the iPhone is only adding fuel to the flames. The story notes that music executives fear the most obvious contender may give too much clout to Apple Inc., in shaping the future of the fledgling mobile music market. "It is going to change the way people think about their mobile from being a fringe portable entertainment device to everyone recognizing that this is a really desirable mainstream device," said Barney Wragg, global head of digital for EMI Group's recorded music unit, the world's third-largest record company.

It's a little late to be worrying about this sort of thing, we think.

Music Industry Hopes for, Yet Fears, iPhone Effect [Reuters via eWEEK]