Earlier this summer, Rockstar Games faced a PR nightmare after the company revealed that it would not be shipping its highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto sequel GTA VI with a physical disc.
Gamers wanted the option of having a physical copy of the game, not just a digital one. The backlash became so loud that Rockstar was eventually forced to reveal that the disc version would be available in the “following months” after its November release, Vice reported.
The GTA incident is just the latest example of public pushback against the digitization of entertainment. Having your favorite movie or television show available through streaming has obvious benefits, including speed of access, saving space, and cheaper cost.
However, the downside is that you don’t actually own the entertainment. So if you stop using the streaming service, or if you lose internet access, then you no longer have access to your library.
With that in mind, younger generations are increasingly turning to analog entertainment options such as DVDs and Blu-rays for movies.
For music, vinyl records have maintained a certain popularity for decades, but now CDs are also making a comeback as music lovers turn to old-school options to expand their music collections.
CD sales grow faster than vinyl
Compact Discs reached the zenith of their popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s. However, as digital streaming services, including Napster, came into play, CDs were increasingly seen as outdated.
Once Apple released the iPod, it was all but over for the era of CDs. That is, until now, according to the latest Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) mid-year report.
Related: AMC Theatres CEO says one long-running entertainment debate is finally over
U.S. recorded music revenues for the first half of 2026 were up nearly 7% year over year, according to the RIAA. While streaming is still the unquestioned king of most of that revenue, accounting for 82% of total revenue at $4.9 billion, CDs are the fastest-growing portion of music sales.
Consumers purchased 17.5 million CDs in the first half of the year, a 46% year-over-year increase, spending $171.1 million, a 59% increase. Meanwhile, music lovers purchased nearly 27 million vinyl records, a 21% increase, spending $534.8 million, a nearly 18% increase.
The shift toward CDs has been happening since at least early 2022, when Billboard reported that 2021 CD sales represented a year-over-year improvement for the first time since 2004.
What’s fueling CD sales growth?
A separate mid-year report from entertainment industry data and analytics company Luminate dives deeper into the numbers to find out what’s driving CD growth.
K-pop sales growth had a lot to do with the 16% surge in CD sales to 16.3 million units that Luminate recorded. While the growth was “fueled by collectible K-pop releases,” even if you strip out K-pop’s numbers, U.S. CD sales still grew nearly 7% in the first half of the year.
Meanwhile, vinyl sales only grew 2.4% in that time period.
“Halfway through 2026, our data shows the entertainment market growing in several directions at once, as audience behavior across music, television & film defies easy assumptions,” said Luminate CEO Rob Jonas.
“Streaming is expanding, CDs are surging, younger audiences are returning to theaters, and library and broadcast titles are commanding enormous audiences alongside the newest streaming originals.”
Gen Z is helping fuel the CD surge due to what experts are calling “performative audiophilia.”
Digital Music News defines performative audiophile as “the idea that handing a physical format has become a deliberate, visible alternative to algorithm-driven listening. As a result, there’s been a surge in CD players and headphone sales designed to be accessorized by Gen Z in the same way that Sony Walkman and Discman players were loved in the 80s and 90s.”
Related: As GTA VI pre-orders break records, investors still need one answer
