There were welcome increases in both the singles and albums markets in August, our monthly analyses showing that album sales rose by 4% while the singles market experienced a 10% increase, the highest since February. In the albums market digital sales continued to record strong growth, up by 37%. Al... [More]

The July market information report by the BPI’s Research Department is now available for members to download here. In addition to the usual data series on the singles, album and music video markets it features:   •  A look at first week sales in the albums market for the period January to July. T... [More]

The recent return to Number One in the album charts – some 38 years after its original release – by The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main Street was remarkable for a number of reasons. Not only was this the band’s first Number One album since Voodoo Lounge in 1994, it was the first studio album ever to ... [More]

Understandably, vinyl is a format that is close to the hearts of many music fans. Aside from the emotional connections it has to an adolescence spent trawling record racks on a Saturday afternoon, many confidently argue it is superior in every way to the CD. They appreciate its tactility, the larger... [More]

This year it was the 30th anniversary of the BRIT Awards and the staging was as spectacular as ever. As in the past few years it was screened live from Earls Court and was watched this year by a TV audience averaging 5.8m viewers, with a peak of 6.3m. Performers on the night included Lily Allen, JLS, Kasabian, Cheryl Cole, Jay-Z/Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga, whose win in every category in which she was nominated made several of the front pages the next day, crowning a superb 2009 for her. [More]