The typical trajectory for the price of any service or product is upwards, what with inflation ‘n all. But it seems there’s a notable exception to that general rule of thumb.

As newsemergesthat UK digital music sales have now passed the £1bn milestone, it also transpires that the average retail price of an album is now £7.32…a third less than a decade ago.

But that only tells part of the story. If retail prices had followed inflation, the average price of an album should be well over £14 now. So that’s effectively half the price of what it perhaps otherwise could’ve been.

Thedatafrom BPI reveals a lot more about the current status of music sales in the UK.

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Whilst the magic billion mark has now been surpassed in terms of digital sales since 2004, a third of these sales took place in 2010. Evidence, if any was needed, that the UK is has well and truly woken up to the digital revolution.

21 by Adele is the UK’s biggest selling digital album of all time, overtakingThe Fameby Lady Gaga andOnly By The Nightby Kings of Leon.  34 albums have now sold more than 100,000 copies digitally, with 6 of the top 10 represented by UK artists.

The UK’s top-three selling digital tracks since sales began in 2004 areas I Gotta Feelingby Black Eyed Peas,Sex On Fireby Kings Of Leon andPoker Faceby Lady Gaga.  74 digital tracks have now sold more than 500,000 copies in the UK to date.

Geoff Taylor, BPI Chief Executive, said:

“The strength of British music means there is fantastic potential for further growth. Adele’s 21, the biggest seller of 2011, is already the UK’s biggest-selling digital album of all time. The hard work done by UK record labels in pushing forward the digital music market is paying off for consumers, digital retailers and the music community.”

So, despite music piracy still being an obvious concern as evidenced by this file-sharingconvictionearlier in the week, it seems that the UK music industry is looking a lot better than some reports would have you imagine.

And at £7.32 an album, maybe all music-lovers were looking for was value for money? Just a thought.

Story byPaul Sawers

Paul Sawers was a reporter with The Next Web in various roles from May 2011 to November 2014.

Follow Paul on Twitter: @psawers or check h(show all)Paul Sawers was a reporter with The Next Web in various roles from May 2011 to November 2014.

Follow Paul on Twitter:@psawersor check him out onGoogle+.

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