New figures show that the sales of compilation albums are now on the increase, despite a slump in previous recent years.

Franchises such as the Now That’s What I Call Music series had seen a steady decline since 2004 which is the year that iTunes was released and saw users able to quickly download any music they wanted without the obligatory filler tracks that inevitably appear on most compilations.

In 2012, sales figures showed an increase of a million units in sales, meaning that 20.6 million compilation albums were sold last year compared to 19.2 million sales in 2011.

The figures are to be published in a report by the BPI which also claims that compilations are the fastest growing area of the digital album market. In 2006 it represented just 0.4% of sales but that had increased last year to 23.5%.

Further findings of the report show that the Now That’s What I Call Music series is still the most popular after being at the top for the last 30 years.

Industry insiders have found the findings surprising considering the options available to consumers including free streaming services such as Spotify.