According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, global sales rose 0.3 per cent to $16.1billion, a small rise, but a rise none-the-less.
Digital revenues also accelerated for a second year running, up by 9 per cent to $5.5billion.
It says the growth has been fuelled by a greater number of licensed digital music services like iTunes along with the explosion of subscription services like Spotify and Pandora, and their rapid expansion into new markets internationally.
The numbers were good in Australia too, where sales rose for the first time since 2009, with revenue of almost $400million.
Growth can be attributed to the consumption of digital music products which now make up more than 46 per cent of the industry's dollar value - compared with 37 per cent in 2011 and 27 per cent in 2010.
There are barriers to further growth though, and the IFPI says the biggest being the unfair competition from unlicensed music services.
It estimates that a third of all internet users still regularly access unlicensed sites and it wants government to play a greater role in addressing the problem, highlighting Australia, which will soon benefit from the high-speed National Broadband Network.
The IFPI wants to see effective cooperation from advertisers, internet service providers and search engines to help stamp out unlicensed distribution of music.
2012 Global Album Best Sellers
1. Adele, 21, 8.3m units
3. One Direction, Up All Night, 4.5m units
4. One Direction, Take Me Home, 4.4m units
5. Lana Del Rey, Born To Die, 3.4m units
2012 Global Singles Best Sellers
1. Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe, 12.5m units
2. Gotye, Somebody That I Used To Know, 11.8m units
3. Psy, Gangnam Style, 9.7m units
4. Fun, We Are Young, 9.6m units
5. Maroon 5, Payphone, 9.1m units
