The sales of albums in the UK fell by 10 percent in 2012.
The statistics, released by the BPI, also reveal that the CD album market shrunk by a fifth, with sales of albums on CD down 19.5 percent year-on-year with only 69.4m albums sold.
Sales of digital and physical albums combined fell overall again by 11.2 percent to 100.5m over the past 12 months – although singles sales hit a new high.
Bobby Womack has revealed he's suffering from brain disorder Alzheimer’s.
The 68-year-old, who released his first single in 1954, has admitted he struggles to recall the names of his songs and those of his collaborators.
He said: “The doctor says there are signs of Alzheimer’s. It’s not bad yet but will get worse.
He added: "How can I not remember songs I wrote? It’s frustrating. I don't feel together yet. Negative things come in my mind and it's hard for me to remember sometimes."
Ray Davies sheds light on his new projects, including an opera, a film and a solo album, in the new issue of Uncut, out on Thursday (January 3, 2013).
The former Kinks frontman also explains the conflicting feelings he experiences when songwriting.
Revealing what he goes through when he realises he's writing one of his great songs, Davies says: "It’s a moment of excessive emotion. And I do get very emotional when I write, sometimes… It’s just a chill you get.
Before Melody Maker swept me off the street in the manner of a benevolent old codger taking a pallid waif into his kindly, white-haired care in something written to make you weep by the venerable Dickens, I worked for a bleak season or two in the mail order department of a bookstore near Piccadilly Circus.
Gram Parsons' legendary solo career is examined in the new issue of Uncut, out on Thursday (January 3, 2013).
The back-to-basics approach of the country-rock singer's acclaimed GP and Grievous Angel albums were in sharp contrast to the more psychedelic work of his previous group, The Flying Burrito Brothers.
Parsons' collaborator in his early band, The International Submarine Band, Ian Dunlop explains: "He’d got into a maze with the Burritos. The thing about the GP album is that he’s coming out of that maze wanting to make pure country music again.
