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U.S. CD Sales Rise 16 Percent to 16.3 Million Units in First Half of 2026
Luminate data showed 16.3 million CDs sold, up 16 percent year-over-year. Growth persisted even after excluding K-pop releases, with physical albums overall increasing 7.8 percent.
Jul 16, 3:55 PM·1m read1 source
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U.S. CD sales reached 16.3 million units in the first half of 2026, a 16 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, The Verge reported. Research firm Luminate attributed the rise to collection building, price accessibility, albums such as BTS’ ARIRANG, and a strong K-pop release schedule.
CD sales still grew 6.7 percent when K-pop units were removed from the totals. Approximately half of Gen Z and Millennial buyers do not own a CD player. Luminate stated that the CD has been recontextualized from a functional audio format into an affordable collectible, noting that younger buyers treat physical purchases as aesthetic ownership and direct artist support as much as listening.
Physical album sales across vinyl, CDs, and cassettes rose 7.8 percent year-over-year. Vinyl sales reached 21.8 million units while cassette sales totaled about 205,000 units, Luminate’s Denise Schenasi told The Verge.
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