CD Sales Surge as Format Shifts From Audio to Collectible
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
Luminate data reveals a rise in physical media sales, driven by K-pop and a desire for tangible artist support among younger generations.
Compact disc sales in the U.S. rose 16 percent year-over-year during the first half of 2026, according to a report from research firm Luminate. As The Verge reported, the firm recorded 16.3 million CDs sold during that period.
Luminate attributes this growth to a strong K-pop release schedule—including the album *ARIRANG* by BTS—as well as price accessibility and collection building. Even when K-pop sales are excluded, U.S. CD sales still grew by 6.7 percent.
Luminate suggests the CD is being recontextualized as an affordable collectible rather than a functional audio format. This shift is particularly evident among Gen Z and Millennial buyers, approximately half of whom do not own a CD player. According to Luminate, for these buyers, the act of purchasing physical music is as much about aesthetic ownership and direct financial support for the artist as it is about listening to the music on the disc itself.
Overall physical media sales, including cassettes and vinyl, climbed 7.8 percent from the same period last year. Denise Schenasi of Luminate told The Verge that vinyl sales reached 21.8 million units, continuing a multi-year trend of outselling CDs, while cassette sales totaled roughly 205,000 units.