AC/DC guitarist Angus Young has insisted that albums from the bands back-catalogue have sold better without the help of Apple's online music store iTunes.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Young said they would continue their boycott of the service for as long as they refused to allow artists to lock their albums.

The store, which has been credited with reforming the way people buy music, allows users to download individual songs from albums, as well as the full release.

“We don't make singles, we make albums," Young told the newspaper. “We honestly believe the songs on any of our albums belong together.

"If we were on iTunes, we know a certain percentage of people would only download two or three songs from the album - and we don't think that represents us musically."

He added: “We've actually increased our back catalogue sales without being on the site, and at the time we were sternly warned by our management team and our record label that the complete opposite would be the case."

Young claimed that the band's resistance to iTunes had attracted the attention of two major acts who were also concerned about their music. He refused to name either band.

(by Jason Gregory)