Strong sales of Michael Jackson and Beatles music may not be enough to prevent overall album sales in the US from falling for an eighth time in nine years.

Sales were down 11.1% in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period the year before.

So far, overall album sales for the year are down 13.9%. In 2008, total album sales dropped 14%, reports Reuters.

The poor third quarter results came despite a huge surge in sales of Jackson's music in the wake of his death in June.

Sales of the singer's albums totalled 5 million, while The Beatles' re-issued back-catalogue also performed strongly, posting figures of 1.3 million units.

Retailers are expected to pin hopes of a sales increase on the continued strong sales of both artists and a stronger fourth quarter.

(by Jason Gregory)