Singles chart hit by slump in record sales

SALES of music singles crashed by a third last year to their lowest level since the 1960s, official figures have revealed.

Illegal downloading, cheap albums and even the popularity of ring-tones helped to drive down sales of the traditional single to just 36.4 million in 2003.

This represents a 58 per cent slump compared with 1997, when single sales peaked at 87 million. The year-on-year drop of 30 per cent is the biggest ever fall in single sales over a 12-month period.

The news is regarded as so catastrophic for the record industry that music companies had been trying to delay the announcement to avoid bad publicity in the run-up to the Brit Awards.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the record industry’s trade body, was yesterday forced to release the figures following a leak. While it confirmed singles sales were suffering from an unprecedented slump, the BPI pointed out that CD album sales rose by 5.6 per cent last year, helping the UK to buck the worldwide decline in recorded music sales.

Paid-for downloads from music sites have also hit a new high, with 150,000 downloads in January 2004. This means that digital downloads, which will soon be integrated into the official single chart, are now outselling vinyl, cassettes and DVDs.

The slump in singles sales, however, is bad news for an industry which still places great emphasis on the Top 40. In the week to 25 January, the single had its worst seven days, selling only 400,000 copies.

While illegal downloading, or file-sharing, is one of the major causes of the decline, the drop in price of the album has also contributed. The average cost of a chart album is now under 10 - in real terms significantly less than five years ago - as a result of downward price pressure from internet retailers. Chart singles are still priced at 3 to 4, making them poor value in comparison.

The BPI also pointed to the increased competition for pocket money. "Even ring-tones are competition to singles in that they compete for the younger market’s money," a spokesman said.

Peter Jamieson, the BPI chairman, said: "Paradoxically, all I can see in the singles market is growth. Sadly, however, most of it via illegal downloading."