CD sales surge 16%, outpacing vinyl in global fan economy
A sudden 16% jump in CD sales, heavily driven by K-pop superfans, signals a shift in how young consumers treat physical music as affordable merchandise rather than a listening format.
CD sales have surged 16% to 16.3 million units in the first half of the year, abruptly reversing last year's sharp decline and outpacing the 2.4% growth of vinyl. The data, released Wednesday by entertainment tracker Luminate, marks a stark shift from the same period last year when CD sales were down 22% year-over-year. Vinyl still commands a larger overall market share, but the sudden resurgence of the compact disc is reshaping the economics of physical music.
The primary engine for this growth is K-pop. Fans of groups like BTS and ATEEZ have driven massive volume, though Luminate notes that even without Korean releases, CD sales still rose 6.7%. For record labels and retailers, this validates the CD as an "affordable collectible" rather than a dead format.
This purchasing behavior is disconnected from the actual utility of the product. Half of Gen Z and millennial buyers do not own a CD player. Luminate notes that "the act of buying physical music is as much about aesthetic ownership and direct financial support for the artist as it is listening to the music on the product itself."
Streaming language shifts
The report also reveals significant structural changes in audio consumption that affect international music markets. English-language tracks saw a slight decline, dropping from 88.1% to 87.1% of US streams. Nearly one in ten streams in the US are now in Spanish, fueled by the growth of Latin music.
Korean-language music has also secured a firm foothold, reaching a 1.1% market share. "It remains the third most popular language for music in America, owing to the continued strength of K-pop hits," the report states. While R&B and hip-hop still account for roughly one in four streams, their overall share is contracting as listeners migrate toward dance, electronic, country, and Latin genres, a shift European exporters must navigate to maintain US revenue.
