CD sales at the Irish arm of the music giant that counts U2, Madonna and Lady Gaga amongst its artists, dropped by one third last year — contributing to a 62% drop in pre-tax profits.

THE record company behind U2 and Jedward has blamed piracy and illegal downloading for a fall in profits at its Irish operations.

THE record company behind U2 and Ronan Keating saw its Irish pre-tax profits plunge from €6.2 million to €2.5m last year.