The research by mobile technology research firm mobileYouth claims that under 25 year-olds spend five times as much of their disposable income on mobile phones, calls, texting and content as they are with music retailers.
This equates to 11% of all spending in this age group, who spend an average of 拢238 a year on mobile phones and just 拢49 on music.
It is also claimed that this age group could be worth as much as 拢3bn a year to the mobile phone market compared to just 拢0.6bn for music retailers.
Graham Brown, research director at mobileYouth, said: "Britain's youth would rather spend their money on the latest mobile gadget than the latest band. This clearly highlights the issues facing the music industry are far more complex than just piracy."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .