UK album sales soar

Music album sales in the UK market have reached record levels, says the British Phonographic Industry.

That's extremely interesting given that the BPI is a founding member of the the Alliance Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, not to speak of the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), both of which claim file sharing is leading the music industry to ruin.

"A 12% rise in unit sales lifted the album market to record levels of more than 228 million units," it states.

On the other hand, maybe that number isn't so surprising after all because the music industry organ also reports, "CD albums, with an average retail price of £9.79 (about $15.60 US), have never been cheaper in the UK".

Could it be that cheaper music leads to more buyers?

However, in case anyone gets the wrong idea, "this continued downward pressure on prices meant value lagged behind unit growth and the further decline in the singles market meant overall value recorded modest growth of only 0.1% in the second quarter," the BPI hastens to point out.

It also says the singles market, "continues to contract". Shrinking price differentials between singles and albums, competition from other entertainment products and, "illegal downloading have all played their part," it states, continuing, "While the download market for singles is still in its infancy the record industry has been exploring ways to deliver tracks via alternative formats and labels have trialled a growing number of online initiatives.

"In recognition of the growing demand for legitimate downloads, an official download chart is scheduled for launch later this autumn with plans to incorporate the data in the official singles chart some time next year."

Said BPI executive chairman Peter Jamieson, "I am excited by the BPI's increasing activities to help its members embrace new technological opportunities. This is in tandem with our plans to introduce the download chart which will become a pivotal feature of tomorrow's music successes."