Digital music sales hit £1bn mark in the UK

Sales of digital music in the UK have hit £1bn since the launch of legal online music services in 2004, with a third of that spent last year alone.

Sales in 2010 were driven by the release of Adele's 21, which became the best-selling digital album of all time in the UK.

Figures published by the BPI, a music industry trade body, showed spending on digitally downloading albums rose 23 per cent last year. British consumers spent £132m on digital singles, up 12 per cent on 2009.