CD sales continue to rise

CDs continue to dominate album sales

CD sales have continued to rise but cassettes and Minidisc sales have fallen sharply, according to new figures.

The leap in CD sales has been attributed to albums from the likes of Destiny's Child, Shaggy and Travis.

The British Phonographic Industry has reported album sales of 46 million during the second quarter of the year.

Destiny's Child have boosted album sales

This is a rise of 12% on the first quarter, giving an 18% rise for the first half of the year.

The music industry has taken a total of £254m from album sales.

There had been a concern that Napster-style music file swapping services would spark a downturn.

But although there is high confidence in album sales in general, some formats have fallen away.

Cassette sales have dropped off 70%.

Single sales

Minidiscs have also fallen by 70%, all but spelling the end of its attempt to become a credible format for recorded music.

CDs now account for 98% of all album sales.

Single sales are continuing to drop, in the last quarter by 10%.

The BPI attributes the change to a decline in younger buyers and a dramatic rise in albums sold CD format.

The overall trade value of the UK music market in the year to June rose 6% to £1.2bn, with the five big music groups - EMI, Warner, Universal, Sony and BMG - dominating sales.

A BPI statement said: "These results compare very favourably with figures posted by other leading territories."

Market research company Soundscan has shown album sales in the US have fallen more than 5%.