Video killed the radio star – and now fears have been raised that downloading is killing off album sales in Lincoln's High Street.

Many might remember an era when people saved up pocket money to buy all the latest albums from the likes of Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Sly and the Family Stone.

But new figures show that people in Lincoln have on average bought just 1.17 albums in the first nine months of this year.

The emergence of downloading websites and illegal file-sharing is widely seen as playing a part in the decline of music sales in the shops.

Music experts say classic albums are still being made – but many young music fans are now picking and choosing tracks on the internet instead of buying whole albums.

Andy Richmond was general manager of national company Jive Records during the late nineties, when artists such as Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys were on the label.

He is now director of Lincoln firm LCM Digital Media – but says there has been a big shift in the way people buy music.

"I was around when the download era began, and all the major record companies were resistant at the start," he said.

"Then along came Apple and the iPod and that changed everything.

"We are no longer forced to buy a CD with a number of tracks – four of which we don't want."

The data on album purchases in Lincoln was released by the Entertainment Retailers Association.