New Nielsen Music figures reveal 20.93m additional singles were sold in the first six months of 2011 - increasing the market from 149.20m to 169.95m units - compared to the year before in the 30 European territories the company monitors.

With 384 digital services providing data, all but one of the leading countries surveyed experienced double-digit year-on-year percentage growths.

These included Germany, which last year held on to its claim as Europe's biggest music market with sales up nearly 20%. ...