Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
You may be asking yourself: Weren’t CDs supposed to be dead by now?
It’s true that for the last fifteen years, we’ve all been told the CD is dead. When I’d meet someone — on a plane, or at a party — and they asked me what I did for a living, and I said that I manufacture CDs, the response usually was: “people still buy CDs?”
That was the common perception. Except… apparently nobody told music fans. According to Luminate — the company that tracks music sales in the U.S. — CD sales were up 16% in the first half of 2026. That’s right, up sixteen percent.
Honestly, I’ve been a bit surprised by how fast CDs are growing after more than two decades of decline. What’s going on? Why is a format everyone wrote off suddenly growing again at double digits?
Table of Contents:
• How streaming has impacted CDs
• Today’s CD is a better product
• CDs are an affordable, collectible item
• CD economics
• Conclusion
How streaming has impacted CDs
I think the reason is that streaming changed the role of the CD. It killed the need for the CD as a listening format. Right? We can all listen to those songs on Spotify. But it created a way for a fan to value the music they love, own it, hold it, and cherish it.
In short, the CD is not so much something we listen to. Today, a CD says, “I love this artist enough to own a piece of their work.”
That doesn’t mean people don’t listen to CDs. One reason CDs are growing again is that Gen Z is discovering them for the first time.
For many younger fans, CDs aren’t outdated — they’re new, and… they’re exciting.
They’re physical, they’re collectible, and they’re affordable.
For my teenage niece who just bought herself a 2003 Honda Civic as her first car, the only way she can listen to her music in her car is on CD. So yes, CDs do get listened to… but that’s not what’s driving the resurgence.
Today’s CD is a better product
This is not just about Gen Z. Something broader is happening. Today’s CD is actually a better product than it was 30 years ago.
Think back to the ’90s (if you’re old enough). You’d hear a great song on the radio, buy the CD, and discover the other ten tracks were basically filler content — because too often the record label pushed the artist to get an album out onto the market with a bunch of songs that weren’t as good as the single. Consumers hated that, and it gave CDs a bad name.
Today, thanks to streaming, that problem with filler on CDs is pretty much gone. CDs have become a premium album experience, and fans look forward to buying the CD of the artist they love, because a CD offers so much more than streaming can.
And since streaming solved the listening problem, that freed up CDs to become something entirely different.
Opening the package. Folding out the lyrics. Looking through the photography. Discovering a bonus track you can’t stream. Streaming just doesn’t do that.
We’ve arrived at the point where the CD has become a collectible or souvenir that says: “I was there when they were up and coming.” They’re a way for fans to support artists they love.
CDs are an affordable, collectible item
One more reason CDs are growing again? They occupy a completely different place in the market than vinyl.
Vinyl is the premium collectible. It sells for $25-$40, and sometimes higher.
A CD is the affordable collectible. You can still buy them at some concerts for $10-$15.
That means they appeal to different fans, different budgets, and different buying occasions. I’ve noticed, informally and purely from my personal observation, that fans over 25 tend to gravitate toward vinyl, while fans in their teens and early 20s frequently prefer CDs. Maybe it has to do with a difference in buying power, but it corroborates the point that Gen Z is gravitating toward the optical disc.
CD economics
If you’re an independent artist, there’s one more reason you should pay attention to CDs: The economics are fantastic.
A professionally manufactured CD typically costs $2-$4 if you’re going deluxe on your packaging. Sell it at your concerts for $15 and your gross profit margin can easily exceed eighty percent. You can make over $10 in profit off every CD you sell.
Think about that for a second. That equals the revenue from more than 3,000 Spotify streams. And this is exactly why physical media still matters.
And unlike vinyl — which can take a couple of months to manufacture — a professionally replicated CD can be done in as little as a week.
And unlike twenty years ago, you don’t need to order 500 or 1,000 CDs. Today you can professionally manufacture as few as 100 copies — and in some cases even 50.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the CD isn’t making a comeback because people suddenly miss the old days. Its role has changed, and that’s bringing in new music fans. Today, Spotify is something you consume.
But a CD… is something you keep.
You can watch the original version of this blog as part of our Indie Music Minute series on the Disc Makers YouTube Channel.
Tony van Veen
Tony van Veen is the CEO of DIY Media Group, the parent company of Disc Makers and BookBaby. As a college student, he played in indie bands, created his own LPs, cassettes, and t-shirts, and sold them at shows. Today, he collects CDs, vinyl LPs, and concert t-shirts to support the artists he loves.
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