Music industry fights back against piracy, with first lift in sales since 1999 Adele, who won an Oscar for her song Skyfall, is among the top-selling artists who have helped the music industry to its first sales rise since 1999. REVENUE from global music sales has risen for the first time since 1999, after years in which online file swapping tipped the industry into turmoil. A new report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry says revenue crept up by 0.3 per cent in 2012, with downloads and streaming audio helping to make up lost ground as CD sales continue to contract. "We're on the path to recovery," said the IFPI's Frances Moore. There's a palpable buzz in the air. In her foreword to the IFPI report, Ms Moore said the return to growth was a tribute to the transformation of the music industry, saying it had "adapted to the internet world." That change has been a long time coming. But the war on piracy failed to stem the tide of free music, and by the time executives finally began making legal music available through download services such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes, the industry was in a free fall. The new figures, which show a rise in global revenue from $US16.4 billion in 2011 to $US16.5 billion ($A16.1 billion) in 2012, are the first hint of growth in more than a decade. Across the world, 4.3 billion songs and albums were downloaded in 2012. Subscription-based internet music services such as Spotify and Rhapsody had leapt 44 per cent last year, giving them 20 million users worldwide. The IFPI said that British singer-songwriter Adele - who won an Oscar for her song Skyfall - was among the world's most popular artists, selling 8.3 million copies of her album, "21," in 2012. Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe was 2012's most popular single, with more than 12.5 million copies sold. Mark Mulligan, of U.K.-based MIDiA consulting, warned that the figures did not mean the industry had put its misery years behind it. The physical music market - everything from vinyl records to DVDs - continues to contract, losing another $500 million in revenue between 2011 and 2012, according to the IFPI figures. Downloads and streaming audio now account for most of the music sold in the United States and Scandinavia, but physical music still accounts for the majority of industry revenue worldwide. Illegal music downloads remain a problem worldwide, particularly in potentially huge markets such as Russia, India, and China. Ms Moore urged governments to follow the example of the international enforcement action against Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, accused by American prosecutors of facilitating millions of illegal downloads. Dotcom, who is fighting an attempt to extradite him from New Zealand to the United States, denies the allegations. The report hailed the action against Megaupload and sites like The Pirate Bay - which has been blocked by several European countries - but it estimated that 32 per cent of all internet users still regularly downloaded pirated music. What other industry has to cope with a third of its customers being able to get copies of its products from illegal services? Ms Moore said. With growth uneven across various countries and piracy still a stubborn problem, it could take years for the industry to return to its previous health. If it ever does. Mr Mulligan said he believes some of the lost revenue may never be recovered, with many casual users who used to buy the odd CD turning to free services such as YouTube, television music channels, or internet radio instead.