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CD Sales Are Up for the First Time in 17 Years

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Jan 10, 2022.

  1. Melody Bot Jan 10, 2022
    Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    American Songwriter:

    For the first time in 17 years, CD sales are… actually up.

    According to an annual report from MRC Data, sales of CDs went up from 40.16 million units in 2020 to 40.49 million in 2021. And we have big-name tentpole acts like BTS, Adele, and Taylor Swift to praise for it.

    Vinyl album sales volume increased a massive 50.4% in 2021, as well. That includes the single biggest volume sales week for vinyl album since 1991.

    On Thursday (January 6), Billboard reported that Adele is a significant reason for the upward trend in 2021 CD sales (and music sales in general!). Her latest LP, 30, was last year’s top-selling record across all physical and digital platforms. It was also the top-selling CD in 2021, moving 898,000 units.

    Thanks, Adele.

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  2. Brent Jan 10, 2022
    Brent

    Trusted Prestigious

    Who is buying these? Cars don't even come with CD players anymore, computers rarely have CD-Rom's, music is played via apps/computers... Wild.
     
    falafelmywaffle likes this.
  3. okaybrian Jan 10, 2022
    okaybrian

    Newbie

    I think the T-swift signed CDs are a huge reason for this, I know those were the last three CDs I bought.

    The role Adele plays in all this is cutting the line and hogging up all the coveted, already delayed, vinyl production line so that other smaller bands can't get their vinyl pressed in time. So when the new Weakened Friends album comes out and your local store doesn't have it on vinyl you're more apt to buy the cd, which they have plenty of. All the while, they get a pallet of Adele vinyl sitting in the stacks that will be there for a long time... Thanks Adele...
     
  4. thisisacting__ Jan 10, 2022
    thisisacting__

    Regular Supporter

    I don’t mean this as a snarky question, I’m genuinely curious—where are people playing these? Are CD players coming back? Is it moreso a novelty, limited edition kind of buy?
     
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  6. bradsonemanband Jan 10, 2022
    bradsonemanband

    a band called frick. Supporter

    My band's been selling cassette tapes pretty regularly, and so I've been considering doing CDs as well, but yeah, I'm not sure there's much of a demand for them right now. Maybe they'll become a novelty thing like cassettes sooner or later, but I think right now, it's mostly just limited edition kind of stuff, like signed Taylor Swift CDs, like okaybrian suggested.
     
  7. okaybrian Jan 11, 2022
    okaybrian

    Newbie

    That's a good question. I know cassettes are having a little bit of a surge right now, and I think a lot of things that play cassettes also play cds. I know a lot of receivers for turntables now have tape decks and cd players. And cds are a lot cheaper than vinyl now, especially with everyone getting rid of their collections.
     
    bradsonemanband likes this.