Once again, record companies are questioning the wisdom of selling music on iTunes. This time, the griping shows up the Wall Street Journal.

Basically, the argument is that music companies are starting to believe that selling single songs through Apple’s iTunes is bad for the industry (an industry, by the way, that is badly depressed and counts heavily on iTunes for sales and promotion).

The case for steering clear of iTunes is made through the example of Kid Rock’s “Rock ‘n Roll Jesus” album, which wasn’t sold through Apple’s site. Yet the album still sold an impressive 1.7 million copies, the article points out…

“In so many ways it’s turned our business back into a singles business,” says Ken Levitan, Kid Rock’s manager. Mr. Levitan says the rise of iTunes is far from being a boon to the industry; instead, he calls it “part of the death knell of the music business.”

Complaints from the music industry about iTunes are nothing new. Are executives are just looking a gift horse in the mouth? Or perhaps they have a point. Either way, as paidContent points out, there aren’t really any viable options out there right now.

In any case, trying to develop alternatives to monopoly distribution is always admirable, and indeed, desirable in the long run, but the more pertinent question is: if not iTunes, then what? 

Meanwhile, there is still the larger problem of piracy. In Los Angeles yesterday, federal officials arrested a man on suspicion of violating copyright laws for placing songs on the Internet from an unreleased album by rock band Guns N’ Roses.

Keep an eye on: 

• Vimpelcom signed a distribution deal with Apple Inc. to sell iPhone 3G in Russia (Reuters)
• TiVo posted a profit in the second quarter, but warned of a wider-than-expected loss next quarter (Reuters) 
• Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner picked William Schenck as the magazine’s latest publisher (NY Post)

(Reuters photo of Kid Rock)