GoKawiilIn brief: Sony would like you to think physical media is dead but according to recent data from Luminate, that's not the case across the board. In fact, some formats are actually experiencing a resurgence. In the first half of 2026, sales of CDs shot up 16 percent in the US to 16.3 million units.
Much of the growth can be attributed to younger buyers, but here's the unexpected part. According to the market research firm, roughly half of Gen Z and Millennial CD buyers don't even own a CD player. So, why are people buying CDs without a way to listen to them?
Luminate said the data suggests CDs have been reclassified from a functional audio format into an affordable collectible. In a world that's increasingly digital, physical goods are becoming more rare by the day. Physical media like CDs and vinyl is a holdover from an earlier time, and today's youth are discovering some of the same qualities that buyers from yesteryear enjoyed – namely, owning a tangible product and being able to appreciate it at any point and time without an active Internet connection.
The sales data correlates to the type of music young people are listening to as well. Luminate said 60% of Gen Z consumers aged 13-24 listen to music from the 90s or earlier. For comparison, only 18% of respondents said they listen to older music when asked the same question back in 2021.
More than half – 55% – cited nostalgia as having a direct influence over their CD purchases.
Sony set off a firestorm a few weeks back when it announced it would stop producing physical PlayStation games in 2028. The company blamed a continued shift from physical to digital media as the primary reason for the change, but perhaps a rethink is in order.
Sales of physical media may be down compared to digital, and the latter certainly has its advantages, but some clearly aren't ready to see physical media disappear just yet.