2007 UK Album Sales Down On Previous Year

Album sales in the United Kingdom fell by 10.8% last year compared to the year before, new figures have shown.

In total, 138.1 million albums were sold last year, in contrast to 154.7 million in 2006.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) blamed the drop on a volatile retail climate and illegal downloading.

The increasing popularity of album unbundling, where people download individual tracks rather than complete albums, was also citied as one of the causes.

As a result, singles sales increased last year by 29.3%, up from 67 million in 2006 to 86.6 million last year.

Despite the album figures, BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor, said that the UK market has shown “considerable resilience” over recent years compared to other countries.

Last years top selling album was Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’, which sold 1.85 million copies.