Sales of legal download singles have finally overtaken those of physical CD singles according to figures released in the UK.
Reported on Musicweek.com, the 2004 Christmas period saw a surge in sales of legitimate downloads due to the popularity of portable music players such as the iPod as gifts.
Last week 312,290 downloads were sold against 282,399 CD singles.
Of all the singles in the UK Top 40, only Band Aid 20’s "Do They Know It’s Christmas?" and Steve Brookstein’s "Against All Odds" sold more than 25,000 physical copies.
Commenting on the figure, Ben Drury of 7 Digital Media, one of the main UK-based distributors of digital downloads, said: "This is a hugely significant milestone for the emerging download market and it has occurred much earlier than previously predicted."
However, a British Phonographic Industry spokesperson said that talk of the end of CD singles was premature.
Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, they said: "It's been another year of decline in CD singles sales but the rate of decline has slowed compared with the previous year.
"It's too soon to talk about the death knell of the CD single - there will always be a demand for physical tracks."
