EMI was the worst performer among the four music majors last year, with its recorded music market share falling by nearly two percentage points to 10.9 per cent after a year of profit warnings and underperforming releases.

The British company, acquired by Guy Hands in 2007, generated revenues of about $2.2 billion (£1.1 billion) in recorded music, placing it firmly in fourth place after albums such as Not Too Late by Norah Jones or Drastic Fantastic by KT Tunstall did not deliver as hoped.

Vivendi's Universal, the company behind Amy Winehouse, extended its lead to 28.8 per cent from 25.7 per cent, according to the research conducted by Informa's Music & Copyright. Universal is also the leading music publisher, which handles songwriter copyrights, with a share of 22.2 per cent after its purchase of rival BMG for $2 billion.

Phil Hardy, the editor of Music & Copyright, said: "This is the second consecutive year that one company has dominated the recorded music and music publishing sectors. Because this dominance is even stronger in current releases, it has led to concern that Universal's size is as destabilising influence in what remains a declining market."

Warner Music, home to Led Zeppelin, also increased its share in recorded music to 14.4 per cent from 13.8 per cent in 2006, leaving it ranked third, while second placed Sony BMG, Bruce Springsteen's label, declined again, slipping to 20.1 per cent. Sony BMG is jointly owned by Sony of Japan and Germany's Bertelsmann.

There was better news for EMI in music publishing, where it has long had a more successful operation handling songwriters such as the Arctic Monkeys and Jay-Z. Although revenues from songwriter royalties are much smaller, totalling $800 million, its share improved to 19.8 per cent from 17 per cent. Warner's Warner/Chappell unit was ranked third at 14.8 per cent, while Sony/ATV, a joint venture with Michael Jackson that owns copyright to The Beatles' songs, ended the year at 7.4 per cent.

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