The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) reports that album sales in Britain were down 13.8 percent in the first six months of 2012. According to a BPI report released earlier this week, sales in the first half of 2012 totaled 43.6 million units, down from 50.5 million in the first half of 2011.

However, digital album sales in Britain rose 17.3 percent compared to the first half of 2011. Singles sales grew by 6.3 percent to 93.6 million sold in the first six months of the year.

"We've had another solid quarter of digital growth in sales volumes - both in albums and on singles, where the top 10 were exclusively sold as digital downloads," stated BPI CEO Geoff Taylor. "Album unit sales are down quite significantly year-on-year, but it's important to remember that these unit sales figures do not take into account the growing importance of music streaming and subscription services." Taylor added that the second half of 2012 is looking "very promising."

Adele's 21 was of course the top-selling album in the first half of the year, as it was in the first half of 2011. "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra was the top-selling single, with over a million copies sold in the first six months of 2012.