CD sales in the US last year increased for the first time since 2004

New Ideas in MarketingEssential news for marketers, summarised by YouGov
March 14, 2022, 6:08 AM GMT+0

Though CD sales are still far from their peak in 2000, an increase in CD sales combined with the rise in vinyl sales mark a revival of physical music.

According to the data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), CD sales in the US for 2021 increased for the first time in nearly two decades. Shipments increased from 31.6 million in 2020 to 46.6 million in 2021. Similarly, revenue from the format rose from $483.2 million in 2020 to $584.2 million in 2021.

Physical music seems to be making a resurgence, with the increase in CD sales coinciding with the steady rise in vinyl sales for over a decade. Vinyl sales hit 39.7 million units in the US in 2021, bringing in $1 billion in revenue.

However, streaming continued to maintain a dominant position, with paid subscriptions making up 57.2% of revenue measured by RIAA last year, at $8.6 billion. Ad-supported streams reached $1.8 billion last year. CD and vinyl sales together made for less than 11% of the total revenue.

Discover the top organisations in your market and industry that have customers buzzing using YouGov BrandRankings

Read the original article

[2 minute read]

Explore more data & articles