One Billionth Single Downloaded In The UK

In a major music industry milestone, the one billionth single was downloaded in the UK late last night (8th April).

Based on the standard track length of three minutes and 30 seconds, if you listened to all 1billion tracks back-to-back it would take you just over 6,659 years to listen to them all.

According to Official Charts Company data, since legal digital downloading was launched in 2004 sales have mushroomed from 500,000 a week to more than 3million.

In 2012 alone a record-breaking 188.6million singles were downloaded, smashing 2011’s record by more than 6%.

2013 looks certain to build on last year’s figures as songs are currently being downloaded at a rate of 500,000 a day.

Geoff Taylor, BPI Chief Executive, said: "The digital music revolution has made it easy to buy any song you like, instantly, for half the price of a coffee. As fans increasingly download music on the move, tablets, smartphones and connected cars will drive another phase in digital music’s expansion.”

Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot added: “The explosion in download sales over the past nine years means we are genuinely now living in the digital music age – with Adele as our queen! Over the nine years of legitimate digital music, more than 16 new tracks have sold 1 million copies, which emphasises just how popular digital music is in the modern age.”

Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ is the most downloaded single of all time in the UK with sales of 1.46million while Kings of Leon, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Maroon 5 all appear in the Top 10.

To mark the 1billion landmark, The Official Charts Company, BPI and ERA have commissioned this infographic:

!