UK Album Sales Dropped By 6 Per Cent In 2011

UK album sales took a six per cent drop in 2011 but digital sales continued to rise, according to statistics revealed by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

2011 saw Adele's second album '21' become the biggest ever-selling album in a single year with sales of over 3.8 million copies.

The latest figures released from BPI showed that sales from CD's fell by 13% to 86.2 million discs, which is 6% fewer albums sold in 2010.

However, digital downloads have continued to grow at a rapid speed, with a growth of 24 per cent to 26.6 million.

BPI Chief Executive Geoff Taylor said that the decline on piracy has had a major effect on album sales and accused the government of taking too long to tackle the problem.

"While other countries take positive steps to protect their creative sector, our Government is taking too long to act on piracy, while weakening copyright to the benefit of US tech giants," he said.

"The UK has already fallen behind Germany as a music market. Unless decisive action is taken in 2012, investment in music could fall again – a creative crunch that will destroy jobs and mean the next Adele may not get her chance to shine on the world stage."

Gigwise Top 50 Albums Of 2011