Proof if proof were needed that if you hang around for long enough you become ‘vintage’: After the vinyl revival and the cassette revival, CDs, it seems, are on the way back.
That’s the message from the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) mid-year report. CD sales in that time period totalled $236.7 million, nearly three times the income generated by downloads at $87.8 million.
In 2023 there were 36.83 million of the things sold, an increase of 2.7% from 2022. It seems that after years of falling sales, their decline has been reversed.
The interesting thing is that the CD comeback seems to be largely the work of younger consumers. According to the French industry group SNEP, 43% of CD buyers are under 35. Vinyl is still rising in sales, but with prices of a vinyl album pushing £30 these days, cash-strapped Gen Z consumers may be turning to the CD album as a cheaper alternative.
It helps that most of us still have a CD player hanging around the house. Then there is the sound quality argument. Compared to the tinny compressed sound you get from some digital files, the CD is effortlessly superior.
Plus there is something that the tech evangelists have long overlooked: physical things are nice. Tangible things are nice things, to have, to hold, to own. Building up an actual physical collection of music you love is enjoyable, fun and (crucially, for those under 35s) makes you look cool.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it must be said that according to the RIAA report, streaming is still by far the most popular way to access music in 2024. What seems to be declining is the digital download.
Paid subscriptions to streaming services grew 4% to $5.7 billion, a figure that accounts for two thirds of the music industry’s entire revenue. But single track digital sales fell 16.1% to $81.8 million and overall digital download fell 15.8 per cent to $189.7 million.
It’s hard to see downloads turning that around. After all, whilst everyone remembers the first record they bought, how many remember their first download? In the final analysis, unlike the tactile loveliness of a vinyl record, or even a shiny new CD, it’s hard to feel romantic about a digital file.
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