Google's loss is EMI's gain, but can anyone (besides Apple) figure out the future business model for music?

In their book, "The New Age Of Innovation," co-authors C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan point to Apple's iPod digital music device and iTunes music service as a prominent example of modern-day business innovation: customer centric at the individual level (N = 1) and globally resourced (R = G).

Apple has been very (wildly) successful with those innovative products and services. Other music companies, not so much.

Google, of course, is another example of 21st century business-model innovation (also cited in "The New Age Of Innovation"). This week saw a senior Google executive decamped for the digital music space dominated by Apple. Douglas Merrill, Google's VP of engineering and generally regarded as its CIO, accepted the position of president of digital business for EMI Music. That's a blow to the search giant, according to a news story by my colleague, Tom Claburn. But it also may mean a big boost to EMI's digital music strategy.

In a statement, Guy Hands, CEO of Terra Firma and chairman of EMI Group, praised Merrill's business intellect and his deep engineering background. "His experience, talents, and his ability to drive innovation will be enormously valuable to EMI and to its artists," said Hands.

Merrill said, "I have two passions. One is creating platforms and tools that make it easier for consumers to achieve their goals. The other is music. This exciting new role at EMI is a unique opportunity for me to be able to put those two passions to work together and help deliver EMI's objective of providing the best services in the world to consumers and musicians."

I'm hesitant to present this as a clash of the titans -- Apple vs. Google (once removed) in a battle over digital music. But what the heck: If anybody can give Apple a run for its iTunes/iPod money, it's (the former CIO of) Google. Right?