Adele's chart-topping album 21 has topped the global
albums chart for a second consecutive year.
The album,
released in January 2011, sold 8.3 million copies last year, the International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said.
Overall music
revenues were up 0.3% to $16.5bn (£10.9bn) - the first year of industry growth
since 1999.
Paul Williams,
the head of business analysis at Music Week, said the rise was "very
significant".
"After
many, many years of decline the graph is finally heading northwards
again," he said.
"It
underlines the efforts the music industry has been putting in and the results
it's now getting in reinventing itself in the digital era."
The IFPI's
annual Digital Music Report also showed that digital revenues grew by 9% last year
and now account for 34% of total revenue.
Carly Rae
Jepsen's hit Call Me Maybe was the best-selling single of 2012, with 12.5
million units sold globally.
Adele outsold
her nearest rival, Taylor Swift's Red, by some three million copies.
Former X Factor
contestants One Direction had the third and fourth best-selling albums around
the world with their first two records Up All Night and Take Me Home, with 4.5
million and 4.4 million copies sold respectively.
There were two
other British acts in the top 10 - Rod Stewart's Merry Christmas, Baby was at
number seven and Grammy winners Mumford and Sons' Babel was at nine.
Gotye's
mega-hit Somebody That I Used To Know was the second biggest-selling single
globally, with 11.8 million purchases.
Psy's YouTube
smash Gangnam Style sold 9.7 million units, with Fun's We Are Young just behind
on 9.6 million.
The IFPI's
report also showed that download sales represented around 70% of overall
digital music revenue.
Subscription
streaming accounts for 10%, while mobile ringtones and ad-funded services like
YouTube and Vevo made up the difference.
Although the
music industry was showing signs of recovery, the IFPI said there were still
"major hurdles that need to be addressed to unlock the huge potential for
further growth".
It said
internet piracy still had a seriously impact on the industry, estimating that
nearly a third of all internet users regularly access unlicensed sites to
download music.
The
organisation recommended that companies stop advertising on illegal music sites
and urged search engine providers to prioritise search results relating to
legal services.
"Our
markets remain rigged by illegal free music," said IFPI chief executive
Frances Moore.
"This is a
problem where governments have a critical role to play, in particular by
requiring more co-operation from advertisers, search engines, ISPs and other
intermediaries.
"These
companies' activities have a decisive influence in shaping a legitimate digital
music business."
GLOBAL ALBUM SALES FOR 2012
1.
Adele - 21 (8.3m units sold)
2.
Taylor Swift - Red (5.2m)
3.
One Direction - Up All Night (4.5m)
4.
One Direction - Take Me Home (4.4m)
5.
Lana Del Rey - Born To Die (4.4m)
Source: IFPI
ANALYSIS
"I think it's more than a blip. What you've got
is an entirely different recorded music industry, compared to the last time the
figures went up annually, because we now have a market which is very heavily
digital.
"In some markets, including the US, more than
half of recorded music sales occur digitally, whether it's downloads or
streaming.
"In big parts of the world, there were no
revenues coming in at all really. Now those very important emerging markets
like Russia, Brazil, India and China show the industry is at least starting to
see some revenues there."
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