Is this the tipping point for digital? The way Apple handles the dispute in France will have far-reaching effects for the market.(EDITORIAL)

Steve Jobs, his Apple Corporation and the iTunes service have been a force for plenty of good for the music industry in recent years. Even the most churlish anti-Apple lobbyists have to acknowledge that.

Apple has popularised the digital music player on a massive scale, for one thing. The number of commuters who now travel while wired for sound has multiplied many times over in the past five years, all thanks to the iPod and the general demand for music players that it has driven.

And, of course, the digital music market owes a huge debt of gratitude to the iTunes Music Store, which turned music fans on to paying for music over the internet after the likes of Grokster, Napster (mark 1) and others had built a popular peer-to-peer model.

Using its weight within the market, combined with an open-minded and adventurous editorial team, iTunes also plays a key part in helping to nurture and break new music. Its popularity within the UK music industry, specifically, was underlined last month by its victory in winning the industry-voted Best Digital Store award at the Music Week Awards.

But, for all that, any operator which can claim 70%-plus market share must expect its business to come under some scrutiny. And the latest news from ...