Why is CD sales suddenly growing?

CD sales seem to be on the rise abovehe says thank you for the fans realizing it’s an affordable way to support their favorite artists. According to new report from the research company Luminate, 16.3 million CDs were sold in the first half of 2026 in the US, an increase of 16% per year. CD sales growth was driven by “collection infrastructure, price availability, big albums like BTS’ ARIRANG and a strong K-pop release schedule,” says Luminate.

Even if you remove K-pop sales from the total, CD sales still rose in the US, increasing 6.7 percent. And it seems that some people aren’t even buying CDs to listen to, as a Luminate report says that “nearly” half of Gen Z and Millennial consumers who collect CDs don’t own a CD player.

The data shows that “CD has been re-engineered from audio to cost-effective,” says Luminate. “This behavior emphasizes that for the younger generations, purchasing music has as much impact on the aesthetic ownership and financial support of the artist as it does listening to the music itself.”

Sales of physical music — vinyls, CDs, and cassettes — also rose, increasing by 7.8 percent year over year. Vinyl sales were at 21.8 million and cassette sales hit about 205,000 units, Luminate’s Denise Schenasi says. Seaside. High vinyl sales continue to outsell CDs which have been going to a few age now.