SoylentNews

Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

New Atlas [newatlas.com]:

A mid-year revenue report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has revealed vinyl sales in 2020 have surpassed compact disc (CD) sales for the first time since the mid-1980s. The report also reveals the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the physical media music market hard but streaming music subscriptions are up.

For the last decade the resurgence of vinyl has been slow and steady. From a constant parade [newatlas.com] of novel turntable designs [newatlas.com] to Sony resuming vinyl production [newatlas.com] in one of its Japanese plants after a 30-year pause, it's been clear this old medium has a growing fanbase.

In the newly released RIAA revenue report, it seems vinyl has finally put the CD back in its place. For the first time since 1986 gross vinyl sales were higher than CD sales. According to the report, across the first half of 2020 American vinyl sales accounted for US$232 million in revenue compared to just $129.9 million for CD sales.

Vinyl sales have not grown much, but CD sales have crashed.

Original Submission