US CD sales surge 16% in H1 2026 – half of buyers own no CD player

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While it seems likely that the next-generation of video game consoles will eschew physical discs entirely judging by PlayStation's recent announcement about physical media , other industries are watching the pendulum swing the other way. A new report suggests that physical music CDs are surging in popularity, thanks in part to a new generation of fans.

"In a much-discussed physical-media pivot, CD sales surged 16% to 16.3 million units in the first half of 2026, vastly outpacing vinyl's modest 2.4% growth," according to a new report from Luminate . "Driven by collection building, price accessibility, massive albums such as BTS’ ARIRANG and a strong K-pop release schedule, this revival belies an unexpected development: Approximately half of Gen Z and Millennial CD buyers do not actually own a CD player."

These stats specifically reflect the US market, so take them as you will for the broader industry, but it does all suggest people are once again seeing the value in physical media – particularly as we all grow increasingly understanding of the limitations of digital ownership.

The surge in CD sales is driven by some major K-pop releases, but with that genre stripped out the growth would still be a notable 6.7%. Luminate suggests that these stats indicate "that the CD has been recontextualized from a functional audio format into an affordable collectible. This behavior underscores that for younger generations, the act of buying physical music is as much about aesthetic ownership and direct financial support for the artist as it is listening to the music on the product itself."

Admittedly, the music market and the game industry are very different. While buying a CD is a way of more directly supporting your favorite artist than simply streaming their music, most digital game sales generate just as much revenue as their physical counterparts – and that revenue isn't being cut down with retail overhead.

But the other benefits of physical media, like its collectable nature, the connection of holding an actual object, and the fact that it can't be taken away from you on a publisher's whim, all hold true across both industries. The vast majority of modern game sales are digital, but the physical games market actually had some minor growth recently . Whether that growth would be enough to turn the tide back towards physical media is a question it'd probably take years to answer, but Sony certainly isn't waiting around to find out.

Sony killing physical PlayStation games is "the latest attack on our diminishing rights," leading digital rights group says: "The end goal is to turn the customer into a renter."