Woolies spins CDs into the past as it plans to stop selling singles

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The death knell was sounded for CD singles yesterday when Woolworths announced that it is to stop selling them after plummeting sales.

The store group - the UK's biggest music retailer selling one CD in every three - believes internet downloads are the format music fans now want for buying single tracks.

CD singles will no longer be available in its stores after August, with the exception of one-off releases such as the X-Factor winner, which still sell hundreds of thousands of copies.

Last year, only 8million CD singles were sold in the UK in 2007 compared with 72.6million downloads.

In 1999 - the best year for CD singles - 78million were bought.

Downloads overtook CD single sales in 2005 and the average top ten hit now sells only 10-20,000 copies in stores while the singles chart is dominated by downloads.

Songs are frequently released on download websites weeks before they are offered to shops.