LONDON, UK (BPI/ www.bpi.co.uk) -
Birth of legal download market promises bright future for singles Year-end retail sales figures show UK album sales reached a new high in 2004 on the back of a renaissance in British talent, according to record companies' trade association the BPI (British Phonographic Industry).
And despite tough times for the single's traditional physical format, sales of 5.7m legal downloads in 2004 show the market for single tracks is actually growing. Sales of downloads are rising so quickly they actually eclipsed physical singles sales in the last week of 2004, according to the BPI.
The figures were collated by the Official UK Chart Company (OCC) which monitors sales in almost 6,000 stores and internet sites across the UK.
BPI chairman Peter Jamieson said, 'these figures show that the investment by UK record companies in new British music is paying off. Despite huge competition for consumer spending and the ever-present threat of piracy, music is more popular than ever with the British public. And with the public's fast-growing appetite for downloads, the future looks bright for the single.'
Highlights from the OCC figures include:
* Album sales up 2.6% on 2003 which was itself a record year;
* UK-signed repertoire dominating album charts as Scissor Sisters pip Keane to number one spot;
* 5.7 million downloads sold, lifting single-track purchases by 4.0%
* continuing to boom, with sales up 47% on 2003
British artists drive album sales
UK retailers sold 163.4 million albums in 2004, a 2.6% increase on 2003's previous all-time high of 159.3 million.
As reported in the BPI's Trade Delivery figures last November, new UK-signed artists are behind the increase and these figures show that thirteen of 2004's top 20 artist albums, including the top three, were by UK-signed acts and half the top10 were debuts.
The end-of year album chart (see below) highlights the diversity of music in UK, with big sellers from a range of genres all in the Top 20; Rock (Keane, Snow Patrol & U2), Pop (Scissor Sisters, Robbie Williams & Maroon 5), MOR (Katie Melua & Il Divo), Jazz (Norah Jones) and Urban (Usher, The Streets & Eminem).
In addition to strong sales throughout the year from debutants Keane and The Scissor Sisters, Robbie Williams' Greatest Hits package also made the top 3 despite its mid-October release, with each of the top three selling more than 1.5 million copies.
Legal downloads fuel single-track purchasing
2004 concluded with the UK charts passing a significant milestone; in the final week of the year downloads outsold physical singles for the first time.
The final week of 2004 saw the best week for download sales yet, with more than 312,000 sold compared to 282,000 physical singles.
This download tally exceeded the previous high by more than 20%, and was 22.3 times larger than the 14,000 registered in the first week of January 2004.
'This was an extraordinary week,' said BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson, 'While many high street stores were closed for the bank holidays, online download sites are open 24/7. To that extent, you could say it was a blip, but it's an important milestone in the growth of download sales and a sign of things to come.'
Although the physical singles market declined again, by 14.2% in 2004, the rate of decline has slowed and the 2004 launches of legal digital music services such as mycokemusic, iTunes and Napster, coupled with the launch of the UK's Official Download Chart saw the market for digital downloads grow rapidly, with more than 5.7 million permanent digital downloads sold in 2004 – compared with virtually none in 2003, according to OCC.
Said Jamieson, 'We have already announced that downloads will soon be included in the Official UK Singles Chart and had downloads been included in the singles figures for 2004, the market would have shown a 4.0 % increase.'
Music DVD sales rise by 47%
Another bright spot for UK labels was the rise in music DVD sales, recording a 46.7% increase in sales volume over 2004. The format accounts for over 4% of the whole recorded music market.
Live performances have proven to be must-have items for music fans, with the Live Aid DVD coming in at number one. Commercially available for the first time, its November release coincided well with the Christmas gift market and the release of the Band Aid 20 single.
The DVD format has also created opportunities for high-quality reissues with Oasis' Definitely Maybe DVD, marking 10 years since the release of their debut album, and the appearance of classic titles by artists such as Elvis and Queen featuring in the end of year music DVD top 20.
NOTES
Contact Matt Phillips or Steve Redmond at the BPI on 020 7803 1326 for further information.
Figures are given in millions of units.
Download sales in 2003 were recorded as zero. Physical single sales in 2004 were 26.5 m – had download singles been included in the overall singles tally, the market would have shown a 4.0% increase instead of a 14.2% decline.
The top 20 download chart below only includes sales registered since the launch of the first Official Download Chart on September 1 2004.
These figures are sales registered 'over the counter', through retail outlets in the UK. They are different from the BPI's official Trade Delivery figures, which record the UK record industry's sales to trade.
The BPI figures differ because they account for mail order sales – and also feature a multiplier effect that takes double albums into account. Total album trade deliveries in 2003 amounted to 236.9 million units; BPI figures for 2004 will be released later in the year.
2004's Top-Selling Albums
1, SCISSOR SISTERS, SCISSOR SISTERS
2, HOPES AND FEARS, KEANE
3, GREATEST HITS, ROBBIE WILLIAMS
4, SONGS ABOUT JANE, MAROON 5
5, CALL OFF THE SEARCH, KATIE MELUA
6, ANASTACIA, ANASTACIA
7, CONFESSIONS, USHER
8, FEELS LIKE HOME, NORAH JONES
9, FINAL STRAW, SNOW PATROL
10, IL DIVO, IL DIVO
11, NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC 59 , VARIOUS ARTISTS
12, GREATEST HITS, GUNS N' ROSES
13, NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC 57 , VARIOUS ARTISTS
14, 10 YEARS OF HITS, RONAN KEATING
15, A GRAND DON'T COME FOR FREE, STREETS
16, NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC 58 , VARIOUS ARTISTS
17, HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOMB, U2
18, ENCORE, EMINEM
19, THE SOUL SESSIONS, JOSS STONE
20, FRANZ FERDINAND, FRANZ FERDINAND
2004's Top-Selling Downloads
1, VERTIGO, U2
2, WHAT YOU WAITING FOR, GWEN STEFANI
3, LOSE MY BREATH, DESTINY'S CHILD
4, AMERICAN IDIOT, GREEN DAY
5, DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS, BAND AID 20
6, THESE WORDS, NATASHA BEDINGFIELD
7, SHE WILL BE LOVED, MAROON 5
8, JUST LOSE IT, EMINEM
9, I BELIEVE IN YOU, KYLIE MINOGUE
10, CAR WASH, CHRISTINA AGUILERA FT MISSY ELLIOTT
11, THIS LOVE, MAROON 5
12, IF THERES ANY JUSTICE, LEMAR
13, DOGZ DON'T KILL PEOPLE WABBITS DO, MOULDY LOOKIN STAIN
14, FLASHDANCE, DEEP DISH
15, LOVE MACHINE, GIRLS ALOUD
16, NUMB/ENCORE, JAY-Z & LINKIN PARK
17, DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT, SNOOP DOGG
18, MARY, SCISSOR SISTERS
19, UNWRITTEN, NATASHA BEDINGFIELD
20, I'LL STAND BY YOU, GIRLS ALOUD
2004's Top-Selling Singles
1, DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS, BAND AID 20
2, F**K IT (I DON'T WANT YOU BACK), EAMON
3, CHA CHA SLIDE, DJ CASPER
4, CALL ON ME, ERIC PRYDZ
5, YEAH, USHER FT LIL' JON & LUDACRIS
6, ALL THIS TIME, MICHELLE
7, LEFT OUTSIDE ALONE, ANASTACIA
8, MYSTERIOUS GIRL, PETER ANDRE
9, TOXIC, BRITNEY SPEARS
10, F.U.R.B. (F U RIGHT BACK), FRANKEE
11, I DON'T WANNA KNOW, MARIO WINANS FT ENYA & P DIDDY
12, BABY CAKES, 3 OF A KIND
13, TAKE ME TO THE CLOUDS ABOVE, LMC VS U2
14, MILKSHAKE, KELIS
15, LOSE MY BREATH, DESTINY'S CHILD
16, MY BAND, D12
17, THESE WORDS, NATASHA BEDINGFIELD
18, EVERYTIME, BRITNEY SPEARS
19, THUNDERBIRDS/3AM, BUSTED
20, DRY YOUR EYES, STREETS
2004's Top-Selling Music DVDs
1, LIVE AID, VARIOUS ARTISTS
2, ON FIRE - LIVE AT THE BOWL, QUEEN
3, DEFINITELY MAYBE, OASIS
4, DREAM CAST - LES MISERABLES IN CONCERT, CAST RECORDING
5, CASTLES IN THE AIR, CLIFF RICHARD
6, WHAT WE DID LAST SUMMER, ROBBIE WILLIAMS
7, WELCOME TO THE VIDEOS, GUNS N' ROSES
8, 68' COMEBACK SPECIAL, ELVIS PRESLEY
9, LIVE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM, QUEEN
10, ALOHA FROM HAWAII, ELVIS PRESLEY
11, THE TURNAROUND TOUR - LIVE, WESTLIFE
12, THE FAREWELL TOUR, CHER
13, LIVE AT DONINGTON, AC/DC
14, HELL FREEZES OVER, EAGLES
15, THIS LEFT FEELS RIGHT - LIVE, BON JOVI
16, THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, WHO
17, LIVE AT THE ALBERT, ROBBIE WILLIAMS
18, GREATEST VIDEO HITS - 2, QUEEN
19, LIVE AT SLANE CASTLE, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
20, THE STONE ROSES, STONE ROSES
