In the USA, CDs are enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Young people from Generation Z in particular are currently contributing to an increase in sales and counteracting the “digital trend”.
Why do people buy physical media? That Sony wants to eliminate physical games in the form of discs for its brand has faced some criticism. This is partly because digital games and media do not truly belong to you after purchase, but you merely acquire the license to use them. If the corresponding platform were to be shut down at some point, you might lose access.
Many people have therefore long relied on the security of physical media, whether to use them independently in the long term or to have them as collectibles on the shelf. Generation Z also seems to be discovering its love for the medium, as a recent report from the USA shows.
CD sales in the field of physical media have significantly increased in the USA
How have CD sales increased? According to a report from Luminate, sales of physical music CDs in the first half of 2026 have risen by a whopping 16%, amounting to 16.3 million units sold. A large part of this is made up of CDs from the K-Pop genre, which is particularly popular among young people of Generation Z. They account for about 9.3% of the increase.
Why does Generation Z prefer CDs? The report offers the following speculations as to why CDs are so well received by younger generations:
- They are an affordable collectible for fans of certain bands or brands
- Artists are supported more directly than through digital streams
- They cannot be withdrawn by the provider, but belong to one and can be used as long as one has the appropriate playback device and it works
Particularly the first two points are, according to the report, decisive, as about half of Generation Z and the Millennial generation do not even own a CD player.
It remains to be seen whether this trend back to physical media will continue and what impact it will have on the market here at home. That Sony is banning physical games for its brand has hit many gamers hard. A gaming shop, meanwhile, announces that this decision does not concern them: CEO of GameStop explains how they will handle the disc exit of PlayStation: “It is completely, completely irrelevant”
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