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London (pte036/26.11.2004/15:00) - UK record companies have seen record album sales in the past year. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, the best ever year for album sales has seen 237 million sold in the 12 months to September. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) http://www.bpi.co.uk , there has been a 3 per cent rise compared with last year. Sales of single tracks are also up thanks to the availability of legal download services, which will be added to the single charts from next year, it said.
Online services such as MyCokeMusic and Wippit experienced sales of around 1.75 million tracks between July and September 2004, an increase of 9 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Without online sales, single sales were down by 12 per cent. Sales of traditional 7" singles were up for the 11th quarter in succession, with sales topping one million in the year to September - an increase of 74.8 per cent.
The best-selling album in the 12 months to September was Dido's "Life for Rent". "Friday's Child" by Will Young came second. 11 of the 20 top albums of the year were signed to UK-based labels, such as Busted and The Darkness.
According to BPI chairman Peter Jamieson, the British record industry's continued investment in new British talent was paying off. "While albums from new British artists are selling well, the booming DVD market is making an impact and the legal download market shows that demand remains high for single-track purchases," he added. DVD sales were up by 41 per cent on the same period last year.
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