Debbie Harry thinks the music industry is "already ruined".

The Blondie singer feels the ease of access to tracks which the internet provides and The Rise in downloading - which has led to a drop in album sales and a downturn in profits made by the music industry generally - have made it impossible for artists to survive in today's world.

Speaking at Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards - where she won Ultimate Icon - at London's Banqueting House, Debbie told BANG Showbiz: "The music industry is already ruined. Computers and the internet and downloading songs completely ruined the music industry and everything artists used to work for.

"I remember when vinyl was corrupted by cassettes and the whole industry went crazy thinking nobody would sell any records, so it's really been heading this way for quite some time."

The 'Rapture' hitmaker - who released her ninth album with the band, 'Panic of Girls' earlier this year - also admitted she finds it hard to keep at the top of the music industry, but now that she has been involved with it for such a long time, she finds it more rewarding.

She said: "It's always getting harder to keep at the top of my game, but on the other hand I enjoy it so much more now so it sort of balances out."