US CD Sales Surge 58% in First Half of 2026 Driven by Retro Trend
US CD sales revenue jumped 58% to $171.1 million in the first half of 2026, driven by Gen Z interest in physical media. Vinyl records still dominate the market, generating $554 million.
US revenues from compact disc (CD) sales surged by 58% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, reaching $171.1 million, according to a new report by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
In total, 17.5 million CDs were sold during this period, representing a 47.5% jump compared to the first half of 2025. Technology website TechCrunch notes that this recovery follows a 7.8% decline in CD revenues in 2025, which fell to $312.4 million from $338.9 million in 2024. The number of CDs sold in 2025 had also dropped by 11.6% compared to 2024, down to 29.5 million units.
The Retro Tech Revival
TechCrunch highlights that the sales growth comes amid renewed interest in simpler technologies, including dumbphones, digital cameras, typewriters, landlines, and physical media like CDs and vinyl records. For Gen Z, the demand for these devices represents a form of nostalgia for a technological era they did not experience firsthand.
Vinyl Maintains Dominance
However, CD sales still lag far behind those of vinyl records. According to the RIAA report, vinyl records generated $554 million in the first six months of 2026, a 17.7% increase compared to the same period last year. The number of vinyl records sold in the first half of the year stood at approximately 27 million units, up 2.4% year-on-year.
In 2025, the US vinyl market generated $1.04 billion in revenue, a 9.3% increase compared to 2024, with approximately 47 million units sold. In 2022, US vinyl sales surpassed CD sales for the first time since 1987. The format recorded its 19th consecutive year of revenue growth in 2025.
