CD sales in the US rose sharply in the first half of 2026, with 17.5 million discs sold compared with 12 million during the same period last year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The 45.7% increase generated $171.1 million in revenue, up 58.6% year on year. The turnaround follows a 22% fall in CD sales between 2024 and 2025.
Figures published by research firm Luminate in July also showed a substantial rise, although its estimate was lower at 16.3 million units. Luminate attributed much of the growth to special-edition releases by K-pop artists including BTS.
The research suggested that CDs are increasingly being bought as collectible items rather than solely for listening. About half of buyers were reported to own a CD player, indicating that ownership of the physical format does not necessarily mean it is being played regularly.
Vinyl sales continued to grow alongside the CD revival, increasing by almost 21% to 26.5 million units. Sales of other physical formats, including CD singles, DVDs, cassettes, SACD and DVD-Audio, rose by more than 73% to 1.6 million units.
Streaming nevertheless remains dominant. Revenue from streaming services grew by 4.7% to $4.9 billion during the first half of 2026, comfortably exceeding the combined total generated by physical music formats.
