Album sales declined in 2011 despite Adele selling 3.8 million copies of her album 21
Digital music sales
continued to rise in the UK in 2011, but not by enough to prevent an
overall decline in album sales, according to the BPI.
The music industry body said that 26.6 million digital albums were sold, a 24% rise on the previous year.
However, CD album sales fell by 13% to 86.2 million discs. Overall, 6% fewer albums were sold than in 2010.
The BPI blamed the decline on piracy and accused the government of taking too long to tackle the problem.
'Creative crunch'
Digital downloads have recorded rapid growth over recent years. In 2007, only 6.2 million albums were bought as files over the internet according to The Official Charts Company.
The year 2011's tally was more than four times that amount. Fifteen albums sold more than 100,000 digital copies, with Adele's 21 proving the most popular.
However, shoppers still showed a preference for CDs, buying more than three times the number of albums on disc than downloads.
The BPI said that "physical ownership" still played an important role, but said "a backdrop of chronic piracy" posed risks to the music industry.
"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 the US tech giants," said Geoff Taylor, the BPI's chief executive.
"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."
However, CD album sales fell by 13% to 86.2 million discs. Overall, 6% fewer albums were sold than in 2010.
The BPI blamed the decline on piracy and accused the government of taking too long to tackle the problem.
'Creative crunch'
Digital downloads have recorded rapid growth over recent years. In 2007, only 6.2 million albums were bought as files over the internet according to The Official Charts Company.
The year 2011's tally was more than four times that amount. Fifteen albums sold more than 100,000 digital copies, with Adele's 21 proving the most popular.
However, shoppers still showed a preference for CDs, buying more than three times the number of albums on disc than downloads.
The BPI said that "physical ownership" still played an important role, but said "a backdrop of chronic piracy" posed risks to the music industry.
"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 the US tech giants," said Geoff Taylor, the BPI's chief executive.
"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."
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