BPI: Consumers prefer CDs to downloads for albums

The music industry will continue to rely on CD albums for the foreseeable future, according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Single sales have benefited from the growth in music downloads, with more than 117 million shifted since the beginning of 2009.

More than 98 per cent of those sales have been in digital formats, but the market for albums looks very different.

Adam Liversage of the BPI told the Times that 86 per cent of album sales are in physical formats and predicted that it would be many years before downloads can challenge the supremacy of CDs.

He explained that CDs still have a number of advantages over downloads, which make them a more attractive choice for many music lovers.

"There's better sound quality [on a CD] - not everyone can live with the compressed audio quality on mp3," said Mr Liversage.

He added that the music industry had responded to market trends by taking steps to cut the price of CDs, with the headline retail price of an album now around £3 lower than in 2000.

The forecast comes in the week that may see the biggest ever first-week sales for a debut album in the UK.

Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream sold more than 130,000 copies on its first day of release, putting it on course to beat the first-week total of 375,872 set by Leona Lewis's Spirit in 2007.

By Neil Hill