Nielsen SoundScan says sales of albums through the week ended Sunday reached 665.5 million units, up 1.4 percent from the same point in 2003. The industry has one more week of sales left before getting a final tally for the year.

Any sales increase is important, but the final number still will represent a disappointing slide from the 7 percent to 8 percent gains that the industry saw through the first nine months of the year.

The prospective increases mark a small victory for record companies in their fight against piracy, a long creative drought and competing entertainment media.