US CD sales rebound as physical music grows alongside streaming
RIAA data shows CD sales rose 45.7% in the first half of 2026, while streaming revenue also increased to US$4.9 billion.
US CD sales rose sharply in the first half of 2026, marking a rebound for physical music formats after sales fell 22% between 2024 and 2025.
The Recording Industry Association of America said 17.5 million CDs were sold in the first six months of 2026, up from 12 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue reached US$171.1 million, an increase of 58.6%.
Research firm Luminate reported a lower total of 16.3 million CD units for the period. It attributed much of the increase to special editions from K-pop acts such as BTS, while suggesting Gen Z and millennials may be buying CDs mainly as collectibles. About half of buyers reportedly owned a CD player.
Vinyl sales also increased, rising nearly 21% year on year to 26.5 million units. Sales of other physical formats, including cassettes and CD singles, rose more than 73% to 1.6 million units.
The physical-media recovery has not come at the expense of streaming. RIAA data showed streaming revenue grew 4.7% to US$4.9 billion, remaining substantially larger than revenue from physical formats combined.
