#Vinyl Outsells CDs For the First Time in Decades

Music listeners bought more vinyl records than CDs in the first half of 2020, according to the RIAA’s new mid-year report, marking the first time since the 1980s that CDs were not the dominant physical medium. Of the total physical music revenue in the first half of the year ($376 million), 62% of that revenue came from vinyl sales ($232 million). Physical music sales overall were significantly impacted by music retail and venue closures due to COVID-19.

Elsewhere, the report’s findings indicate that the music business still experienced slight growth in Q1/Q2, though the rate of growth was stymied by the ongoing pandemic. The report also notes that digital download revenue ($351 million) and physical sales revenue ($376 million) fell below the revenue brought in by ad-supported on-demand streaming ($421 million) for the first time. Find the RIAA’s mid-year revenue statistics report here.