CD Sales Surge in U.S., Driven by K-Pop and Collector Culture

CD sales in the United States experienced a notable surge of 16% during the first half of 2026, according to a report by Luminate. This growth significantly outpaced the 2.4% increase seen in vinyl record sales during the same period. In total, 16.3 million CDs were sold in the U.S. between January and June.

However, vinyl records continue to hold the top spot as the preferred physical music format. A total of 21.8 million vinyl units were sold in the first half of the year. Overall, sales of all physical music formats in the U.S. grew by 7.8%, reaching approximately 38.2 million units sold.

Several factors contribute to the renewed popularity of CDs. Luminate suggests that some American consumers prioritize collecting physical media, while others are drawn to the format's more accessible price point. The surge has been particularly fueled by the immense popularity of South Korean K-pop, with the boy band BTS's comeback album "Arirang" selling an impressive 516,000 CD copies in its U.S. release week alone.

K-pop albums often feature special editions that include fan merchandise like posters or photo cards, incentivizing fans to purchase multiple versions of the same album. Even when K-pop sales are excluded from the data, CD sales still showed a healthy 6.7% increase, indicating broader appeal beyond the genre.

Luminate's report also highlights a generational shift, suggesting that for younger consumers, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, CDs function more as fan merchandise and collectibles rather than their primary means of music consumption. Notably, about half of the Gen Z and Millennial respondents who bought CDs in early 2026 did not own a CD player, acquiring physical discs to complement their digital music listening habits. Meanwhile, subscription-based streaming services in the U.S. grew by 4.8% to 732.7 billion streams in the first half of the year, with global streaming increasing by 9.8% to 2.8 trillion.