Vinyl Records are Set to Outsell CDs for the 1st Time Since 1986

As many people have begun to transition away from physical media onto digital platforms, its little surprise that the sales of CDs have been falling quite significantly in recent years. On the other hand, however, the sale of vinyl records has been in something of a boom thanks in no small part due to the emergence of popularity for retro products.

In a report via CNET, however, for the first time since 1986, it seems that sales generated by vinyl records are going to overtake CDs.

Vinyl Records Set To Top CD Sales

Now, of course in physical numbers, CDs are still well ahead in terms of cost-effectiveness. We all know that it’s very cheap to produce a CD particularly compared to a vinyl album. In terms of outright money generated, however, figures show that records are set to overtake them in terms of outright money generated through sales.

For the first half of 2019, vinyl records earned $224.1 million. Comparatively, while CDs earned $247.9 million their sales are dropping three times as quickly as vinyl is growing. In other words, before the end of the year, unless something very strange happens, vinyl will be the king of physical music media again.

The Future of Music

Its abundantly clear that the future of music (at least for the foreseeable future) will be on digital platforms. Yes, CDs will likely stick around for just as long as vinyl has, but it is somewhat pleasing to see this older technology being embraced again by a generation who likely never encountered it before.

I mean, I have a record player and a decent collection too. You probably do too if you’ve bought into the recent retro trend. Is it, therefore, so mad that vinyl could overtake CDs?… I don’t think so.

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!