CD Sales in the US Increased by 45.7% in the First Half of 2026

CD sales in the US market increased by 45.7 percent in the first half of 2026. Details of the interest in physical music formats are in our news.

Although digital music services continue to dominate, CD sales entered an unexpected upward trend in 2026. In the US market, physical music formats attracted attention by recording significant growth in the first half of the year.

In the first six months of 2026, 17.5 million CDs were sold across the USA. This figure, which was 12 million in the same period of the previous year, reveals a 45.7 percent increase in sales.

Big Rise in the CD Market

This increase in sales figures was directly reflected in the revenues generated. Total revenue from CD sales increased by 58.6 percent, reaching 171.1 million dollars.

This growth became even more meaningful as it came after the decline recorded in the previous year. In the first half of 2025, CD sales decreased by approximately 22 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

Although there are different market measurement methods, all data confirm that CD sales are above last year. The sales volume of 17.5 million recorded in the first half of 2026 has brought one of the oldest digital formats of physical music to the growth side again.

K-Pop albums accounted for a significant portion of the sales increase. Special cover designs and collectibles offered by K-Pop artists, especially BTS, created a significant volume in physical sales.

Even when K-Pop sales were completely excluded from the calculation, CD sales in the United States increased by 6.7 percent in the first half of the year. This proves that interest is not limited to a certain type of music.

Collection Culture and Changing Habits

The usage habits of the CD-buying audience are also undergoing a radical change. Approximately half of Generation Z and Generation Y consumers who buy CDs do not have a CD player at home.

Physical albums have become not only a means of listening to music for this audience, but also a collector's item. Cover design and special prints play a decisive role in consumers' purchasing decisions.

Along with CDs, record sales continued to rise. 26.5 million records were sold in the USA in the first half of 2026, and the annual increase in units reached approximately 21 percent.

A much higher increase was observed in physical formats other than standard CDs and records. Sales in the category, which includes products such as CD singles, DVDs, cassettes and SACD, increased by more than 73 percent.

Total revenue from physical formats increased by 25.9 percent in the first half of 2026. The increase in CD revenues was accompanied by a 17.7 percent increase in vinyl revenues.

Digital Broadcasting Services Maintain Their Top Position

This activity in physical products is also supported by the revived interest in old iPod models. The popularity of portable music players in the second-hand market keeps the demand for physical formats alive.

Despite all these developments, the music industry's largest source of income continues to be digital streaming services. Streaming revenues increased by 4.7 percent to $4.9 billion in the first half of 2026.

This figure accounts for 82 percent of total U.S. recorded music revenues. Revenue from paid subscriptions increased by 6.4 percent to $3.4 billion, and revenue from free services increased by 3.7 percent to $900 million.

The total revenue of the US recorded music market increased by 6.9 percent in the same period, reaching 6 billion dollars. Do you think this interest in physical music formats is a permanent trend or just a temporary wave of nostalgia?