BBC News Online: Entertainment: Music

UK CD market beats global slump

Robbie Williams had a big-selling album in 2001

The figures come at a time when most countries are reporting a downturn in music spending, leading some record companies to make cut-backs.

Home-grown artists have performed well, with seven out of the top tell best-selling albums in the UK coming from local acts.

The total amount of money spent on music in the UK rose by 5.3% in the UK in 2001 to £1.2bn, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Artists like Dido, Robbie Williams, David Gray and Travis were among the home-grown acts who helped boost the figures.

"It is encouraging to see the UK putting in such a strong performance," BPI Director General Andrew Yeates said.

"The fact that so much of that great music is being produced by British artists also bodes well for the future."

Worldwide

But sales of singles have fallen, with their share of the market dipping below 10% for the first time since 1993.

At their peak in the early 1980s, singles were worth almost 25% of total sales.

France is the only other major country to post an increase so far, with sales there leaping by almost 12%.

But the picture has been more bleak in the rest of the world.

The final global figures for 2001 have not yet been announced, but revenue for the first six months was down 5%.

An independent survey has found that sales in the United States dipped by almost 3%.

The rise of CD-copying and a general worldwide economic downturn have been among the explanations offered.