Vinyl outsells CDs for the first time in over 30 years

11 September 2020, 10:26 | Written by Cerys Kenneally

(News)

According to the RIAA's mid-year report, vinyl has overtaken CDs to become the most dominant physical format for the first time since the 1980s.

The Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) 2020 mid-year report has been released, confirming that vinyl sales have surpassed CD sales for the first time in over three decades.

Despite vinyl only accounting for four percent of total music recorded music revenues, the RIAA's mid-year report reveals that vinyl sales contributed to 62 percent ($232 million) of the $376 million physical sales in the first half of 2020.

Although the coronavirus pandemic disrupted music retail stores, music venues, tours and recording (to an extent), RIAA's report states that the music industry still experienced some growth in Q1 and Q2.

The report also reveals that for the first time ever, revenue created by ad-supported streaming services ($421 million) like YouTube and Vevo has passed revenue from digital downloads ($351 million) and physical sales ($376 million).

Paid subscription revenues also increased, accounting for 67% of total revenues in the first half of 2020. Streaming music revenue has also grown by 12% to $4.8 billion.

View the RIAA's 2020 mid-year report at riaa.com.