Killers, Arcade Fire, U2 to kill off singles

Mercury Records is to abolish the production of physical CD singles.

The music label has reported that 99% of its single sales are downloads, leading it to announce the end of single CD production.

Mercury is home to artists including The Killers, Arcade Fire, U2 and Elton John.

A company spokeswoman said: "For the past couple of years we have released physical singles only when there is demand.

"With physical formats now accounting for just over 1% of the overall singles market we are being more cautious."

She added: "That said, physical singles are not disappearing and we will still release them when there is a demand."

The spokeswoman noted that an upcoming release from White Lies will be available on 7" vinyl.

Mercury still holds the record for the UK's biggest-selling single, with Elton John's 'Candle In The Wind '97'. Discs will still be available for special circumstances, such as charity singles.

"Major labels have struggled to find a way of coping with the relatively small runs that a physical single entails," said Ian McCann of Record Collector magazine.

"But real records are still must-have items."

Bands such as Bloc Party have previously suggested that they will stop releasing physical singles.

Downloads were incorporated into the UK singles chart in 2005 and standalone downloads without a physical release became eligible in 2007.

There has been speculation that data from streaming sites may be incorporated into the charts in future.