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At least one contacted Apple directly in order to get their tunes onto the downloads service, which after just a few days of operating became the largest in the country, and a musicians' management agency has said it is interested in talking to Apple in defiance of the label.

Among the rebels is rock musician Motoharu Sano.

It is an individual's freedom where that person chooses to listen to music,' he told business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun. 'I want to deliver my music wherever my listeners are.'

Talks between Sony and Apple are believed to be continuing, with topics believed to include Apple's closed DRM system. Sony is thought to have asked iTunes to provide downloads in its own ATRAC format that is compatible with its Network Walkman range of portable players.

However, for the time being it appears that the artists will be suffering from Sony's failure to compete with both iTunes and the iPod.