Bad news for bad news fans. It seems the British music industry is enjoying some growth again.
In new figures from the BPI tracking record sales in the year before Sep 2004, UK record companies sold 237 albums, a 3% rise on the previous year. The success of albums from the likes of Keane, The Streets, Will Young and Dido all helped secure the overall increase in sales.
On the flip side singles sales continued to decline, down a massive 12% on the previous year. However the industry association is now counting official download sales and if those are included in the singles statistics you get a 9% rise
Commenting on the figures BPI chairman Peter Jamieson told CMU: "We should be proud of the achievements of British artists in particular and the resilience of the UK music market in general. With the industry continuing to invest in new British talent whilst embracing the opportunities provided by new technology, there are strong indicators that the market vitality will only get better."