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Despite the collapse of HMV, the UK music industry is apparently flourishing, according to new figures released today.
British music body the BPI claims that 183.3 million download tracks were sold in 2012, showing a huge resurgence in single sales, thanks to the digital revolution. Digital downloads now account for 99.6% of singles sold in the UK, with the BPI also claiming that music fans are shifting from illegal file sharing services to legitimate, legal downloads.
30.5 million digital albums were sold in 2012 - an increase of 14.8% on 2011.
The number of people who now only buy their music online is said to be 19.6% of the population, perhaps suggesting why HMV struggled as it continued to pursue sales of physical formats.
"We think that physical music absolutely has a future on the high street," says chief executive Geoff Taylor to The Independent. "The labels have been doing everything they can to help HMV."
"But we’re seeing very encouraging signs of growth in digital."
Millions are now using downloading only - mostly to buy Emeli Sande albums
All-time download figures now reveal that 114 million albums and 936 singles have been sold in the UK to date, and 3.7 million tracks were streamed online through services such as Spotify or Deezer.
The streaming industry is believed to now be responsible for 15.2% of income to record labels.
Below: the biggest selling albums of 2012
