CD sales in the US rising quicker than vinyl for first time in 10 years

Growth in US CD sales is rising at a faster pace than vinyl for the first time in over a decade, according to new data from Luminate. 

Findings published as part of the analytics platform's Luminate 2026 Midyear Report revealed that compact disc sales have risen by 16% to 16.3 million units in the first six months of this year, compared to vinyl sales, which rose by 2.4%.

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Luminate chalks the increase in CD sales to the popularity of K-pop, a genre in which CDs are often sold as collectable items. In March, South Korean superstars BTS released five CD versions of their fifth album, 'ARIRANG', which resulted in around 567,000 sales. 

Despite this, Luminate's report suggests that, even without taking K-pop into account, there has still been a 6.7% rise in CD sales across the US this year. Vinyl, CDs and cassette albums sold a combined 38.2 million units, meaning a 7.8% rise in physical sales as a whole.

Dance and electronic music genres saw the highest percentage of growth on streaming platforms at 0.51%, with top artists including John Summit and The Chainsmokers, though R&B and hip hop reign supreme, accounting for one in four listens across the US in 2026.

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"At the halfway point in 2026, music industry benchmarks show an industry continuing to expand its global footprint, with audio streaming up nearly 10% worldwide and physical formats surging domestically," says Luminate's VP of Music Insights and Industry Relations, Jaime Marconette.

"The mechanics of modern music consumption are shifting toward culture-driven growth and community engagement," Marconette continues.

You can read Luminate's full 2026 Midyear Report here.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, get in touch with her here.