UK music sales fell in 2002 for the first time in years, new figures showed yesterday.

The singles market is now at its lowest level since 1992 as interest in the format continues to slide.

The value of album and singles sales dropped by 3.7 per cent on the previous year, according to industry body the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

In 2001 there was a record high, with sales exceeding £1.2 billion as album sales compensated for the downturn in singles.

But in 2002 even albums felt the pinch as the number sold slipped slightly by 0.1 per cent.

The BPI said: "Factors adversely affecting the market included intense competition from computer games and DVDs, increasing economic uncertainty which affected High Street spending in the Christmas period and the ongoing problem of illegal copying of music."

Singles sales last year were worth £97 million compared with £109 million in 2001. In 1999 they stood at £138 million.

The drop comes despite huge sales for some acts in the past year with Will Young shifting more than 1.1 million copies of his debut Evergreen in just a week.

His Pop Idol rival Gareth Gates sold almost a million copies of Unchained Melody in six days.