poll CD Revenue Nearly Triples Digital Album Sales in First Half of 2024. Why?

[Dante Silva]

 

 

I have observed the acquisition of Compact Discs (CDs) are a coveted music format atypically amongst Gen X.  Yet many of todays music consumers are Millennials and Gen Z. 

This article appears to suggest CD consumption is going up (and digital downloads are going down). This is not something I ever expected to occur in todays music climate.

 

I know that Gen X tend to dismiss vinyl and that back in the day the CD format was sold to them as being the start of the digital era and therefore the future.

 

I have observed (as a consequence of the vinyl revival in recent years), Millennials and Gen Z tend to favor the tangibility and ownership of vinyl.

 

Is this changing? Is the preceding analogue vinyl revival now giving way to a desire from Millennials and Gen Z to embrace a physical, digital music format in the form of the CD?

 

Unlike Vinyl (which is analogue), CDs can interface directly with home PC's and be ripped digitally is this an aspect of their appeal? Given that rips of CDs maintain digital grade sound (unlike vinyl transfers).

 

As contemporary music consumers, what in your view is fueling this apparent revival in the Compact Disc format? 

Edited September 5 by Dante Silva

[DonnaSpring]

I have all my CDs in storage but the cases crack so easily unlike vinyl which is beautiful 

[JO1s]

Korea and Japan

[Dante Silva]

13 minutes ago, DonnaSpring said:

I have all my CDs in storage but the cases crack so easily unlike vinyl which is beautiful 

Vinyl is traditionally thought of as being more delicate because if it gets scratched it is ruined for life.
 

Do you feel that the cost of vinyl in 2024 means that when Millennials and Gen Z purchase it, you are more inclined to be careful about always transferring the vinyl directly to and from its sleeve (when it's not on a vinyl player) to protect your financial investment in your vinyl collection?

Edited September 5 by Dante Silva

[TipToe]

I am a millenial and the only Vinyls i have ever put my hands on are my parent's old music collection. I grew up buying CD's and stopped doing so since most music i found appealing weren't available on stores where i live (aka indie, alternative acts) so searching internet for music became much more convenient and cost effective. With more money available I would totally buy a sound system and  get a renewed collection of music on physical format just for an alternative experience, listening to music on smartphone apps with bothersome headphones can become boring but they will still be my preferred way to go - because of the convenience.

[Charmed Life]

11 minutes ago, DonnaSpring said:

I have all my CDs in storage but the cases crack so easily unlike vinyl which is beautiful 

The vinyl itself breaks and is easily scratched, but I still enjoy it.

 

For me, CD is much better in that sense.

[greeneyedsoul]

I prefer CDs to vinyls because I grew up collecting them instead. 

I do collect both tho. 

[Rihinvention]

Music is a huge part of everyone's life, regardless of when they were born, but I think we're coming up on the first generation that didn't grow up with physical media.

 

I think having something tangible makes younger people feel more connected to their music. Plus it's novel, because it's not the norm to them.

 

Whereas for me, when Spotify came out, I was like "$10 a month?! Well…I suppose I won't have to bother with Limewire anymore. Screw it, I'll try it" — and then I've never looked back.

 

On top of that, there's a "collector" element to it. If you're truly, truly passionate about music, owning and displaying them almost becomes a hobby, and a physical reflection of something that's a huge part of your life.

 

 

Edited September 5 by Rihinvention

[DonnaSpring]

6 minutes ago, Dante Silva said:

Vinyl is traditionally thought of as being more delicate because if it gets scratched it is ruined for life.
 

Do you feel that the cost of vinyl in 2024 means that when Millennials and Gen Z purchase it, you are more inclined to be careful about always transferring the vinyl directly to and from its sleeve (when it's not on a vinyl player) to protect your financial investment in your vinyl collection?

The vinyls themselves might but I mean the cases, cd cases crack all the time and arrive in the post cracked

Edited September 5 by DonnaSpring

[KatyPrismSpirit]

because Taylor Swift released an album

[Virgos Groove]

[makeawish]

having read half the article, what it's saying is that CD sales are stabilising (a 3.3% increase by unit after years of falls) while digital is still falling thru the floor.

 

my feeling is that we've hit the floor of people who like CDs for various reasons and are prepared to stick with them (i buy a lot of CDs cos i like to have a thing to play with a sleeve and the feel of owning something, and they're much cheaper and more reliable than vinyl, i get loads of stuff for under a fiver). esp with the vast price rises in vinyl over the last 2 or 3 years, a new CD that initially sells at £11-£14 (and which are quick to be discounted too) feels like a bargain next to a £30+ LP.

 

whether they actually rise in a significant way from here is more debatable, i think we're a long way from seeing a proper CD revival. I do think that they're becoming more collectable to a gen-z audience tho, esp with alt sleeves, signed CDs and all that stuff

 

digital only is a much harder sell in the streaming age. its only selling pt is ownership of the music but, if yr that bothered about that, then yr more likely to want a physical copy anyway with all the other stuff you get 

[Dante Silva]

4 minutes ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

because Taylor Swift released an album

Though people could have chosen to buy it on vinyl etc instead but for some reason (when given the option) appeared to choose CD?

[Reginald]

The other day I was going through my CD collection, and so many memories came flooding back. It felt like revisiting a part of myself that I almost forgotten about.

"Wow, I really was a teenage metalhead with exquisite taste" 

[itshyolee]

I always preferred CDs to Vinyls because not only are they superior in audio quality, it's a lot cheaper which makes it easier to collect them.

 

Vinyls are still cool, but I mainly collect them for the big ass inclusions (booklets, posters, credit sheets, etc) that come with them

[itshyolee]

8 minutes ago, DonnaSpring said:

The vinyls themselves might but I mean the cases, cd cases crack all the time and arrive in the post cracked

You can swap out the cases. That's what I used to do whenever my CDs came cracked or if I bought it pre-owned from a record store.

[LastGreatBloodline]

I think it all comes down to economics. Downloads are dead because there's no point to owning a digital copy when you can stream. Physicals are bought as collectables and CDs are way cheaper than vinyls. I don't know how it works in other parts of the worlds, but where I live you can get at least 4 - 5 CDs for the price of a vinyl. 

[KatyPrismSpirit]

16 minutes ago, Dante Silva said:

Though people could have chosen to buy it on vinyl etc instead but for some reason (when given the option) appeared to choose CD?

her fans buy both

[JO1s]

34 minutes ago, JO1s said:

Korea and Japan

Why the confused reaction, physical media are still a huge part of both music industries. 

[Mariya Takeuchi]

The 80s Japanese music fans did that 

 

who else is paying £120 for original pressings of 80s albums just for them to get a re released 3 years later

 

[MonsterNavy]

K-Pop physical albums I think and they're are also worth it to buy because of the large photoshoot, variety of photos and all the inclusions etc

Taylor Swift too

 

I think

[Broken]

Thank you Taylor.

[UnusualBoy]

I prefer CDs over vinyls anyway, especially because I only buy CDs I really really like, the last three were: NFR + 30 + Folklore. Planning on getting Princess and Hit Me Hard.

[Moth 2 The Flame]

If this was 10-15 years ago the music industry would've scoffed at digital downloads dying. But the rise of streaming and it overtaking it as the preferred format to listening to music has probably made them re-evaluate this thinking, especially when physical media formats have now also taken over digital download sales for music.

 

The only advantages I can see for digital downloads is ease of access and file transfer onto mobile devices for playing if streaming platforms are down, the listener can't be bothered ripping the CD/don't have a player, or if an artists music catalogue gets pulled off both streaming platforms and digital stores without warning (like Namie Amuro's music catalogue).

[Dante Silva]

Wow, I didn't realize CDs still hold appeal out-with Gen X. What do people who buy them play them on these days? Is it your PC or are dedicated CD players that host larger speaker system's still a thing?

 

Edited September 5 by Dante Silva