Amazon Beats Apple to Become Top Music Retailer in the U.K.

Amazon has overtaken Apple to become to biggest music retailer in the U.K.

According to sales reports from the British Phonographic Institute, Amazon beat Apple in total sales in 2014 by just a sliver -- Amazon took home 27 percent of total music spent, while Apple took home 26.4 percent.

In 2013, Apple was the biggest retailer, with 29.2 percent of the market to Amazon's 22.1 percent. Amazon's growth in 2014 was fueled largely by an increase in home delivery business in the U.K., which went up 4 percent.

In the meantime, Apple, with its business last year situated squarely in the realm of paid downloads, saw its market share decline as consumers moved toward streaming. According to data reported by Music Business Worldwide, 2014 saw a 19 percent decrease in music download revenue and a staggering 59 percent increase in streaming subscriptions.

In 2015, of course, Apple has moved into the subscription streaming market with Apple Music. Only time will tell if Apple's entry into that market will bump it back up into music dominance in the U.K.

The U.K. is the fourth largest music market in the world, after the US, Japan, and Germany, respectively.