British artists that top the list include Sam Smith, Paloma Faith, Ed Sheeran and One Direction
British acts have filled the top 10 best-selling artist albums in 2014 for the first time, according to new figures from the UK music industry.
Singers including Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and George Ezra have pushed US artists from the annual list.
An increase in music streaming has also pushed UK sales to more than £1bn, according to official data.
Nearly 15 billion songs were played on Spotify or Deezer in 2014, accounting for more than 50% of revenue.
Sheeran’s album x was the most popular album of last year, selling 1.7 million copies, the biggest one-year total since Adele’s 21 in 2011. Smith’s In The Lonely Hour sold 1.25 million copies.
It is the tenth year in succession that the year’s biggest-selling artist album has come from a British act.
Figures for 2014, compiled by the Official Charts Company and released by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), showed that demand for music streaming doubled in 2014.
Revenue from subscription services grew to £14.8m in the UK. British acts fared well, with four of the top five most-streamed artists hailing from the UK, topped by Sheeran and Smith.
The Arctic Monkeys and Calvin Harris were also in the top five.
The growth in music streaming is predicted to continue in 2015, with Apple expected to give an extra push or a possible relaunch for the Beats service it acquired last year.
YouTube is also set to launch a new music subscription service.
Ed Sheeran’s x was the best-selling artist album in 2014, selling more than 1.7 million copies
TOP 10 BEST-SELLING ARTIST ALBUMS OF 2014
1. Ed Sheeran …read more
Source:: BBC Entertainment
