FEATURE:
Portable Nostalgia
PHOTO CREDIT: Magdalena López/Pexels
Why the Rise in C.D. Player Sales Is Not Surprising
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PERHAPS it has more…
PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Sever/Pexels
to do with pure nostalgia. After all, a lot of people looking at all-in-one C.D. players online are very young, and they may not be old enough to remember C.D.s when they were first around. I had my musical upbringing happened in the 1990s, so I was used to C.D.s. That portability was amazing. Also, it was a great feeling to save some money and buy an album or single on C.D. I was not really able to afford vinyl, and cassettes were great but perhaps not in every music shop. C.D.s were amazing. I still have so many from when I was younger. As time went on, things changed. Devices like the iPod meant people could carry a library of music around. Now, streaming is massive. So many people listen to music in on these platforms, and there was a worry that C.D.s and cassettes would die out. C.D.s have seen this rise and resurgence. Not so they are going to have the same sort of impact they did in the 1990s and 2000s. However, there is this move back to physical music. One reason why vinyl sales continue to rise is that people want to buy music. Own a product and have that connection with it, rather than everything being delivered digitally. Also, digital music is not as environmentally friendly as you’d imagine. The environmental impact of streaming is huge: “Storing, processing, and transmitting billions of audio files requires vast energy-hungry data centers, matching or exceeding the carbon pollution of past physical formats like vinyl and CDs”. Younger music fans perhaps more conscious of environmental impact and factors such as this.
I feel one of the problems of C.D.s coming back to the fore is the devices to play them on. Some people play them int heir cars. Though the proliferation of portable devices is not as pronounced as before. Though there are a lot of buying options. For something like a modern-day Discman, there are these alternatives. The Discman was notorious for making C.D.s jump and slip. They were a little flawed in that respect. Newer models and devices do seem to be a bit more dependable and problematic. I was pleased to read news that young music listeners are interested in and looking for all-in-one C.D. players:
“John Lewis report that searches for CD players are up 96% since July, possibly owing to students heading to university and buying the systems for their rooms. The £79 Crosley Voyager, and the £129 Pure Classic C-D6 are both sold out online, with the Voyager scheduled to return in October. Portable CD players are also popular.
This tallies, of course, with sales of CDs themselves. A report this year found that the growth of CD sales is up 16%, compared with vinyl’s 2.4%. HMV reports that sales of CDs are up 10% year on year – thanks to artists often providing unique content on the format. “K-pop has been a massive driver, with BTS the most obvious example of artists that have led the resurgence,” says the managing director, Phil Halliday. “But it goes much wider than that. We’re seeing very strong CD demand around artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Ariana Grande and Olivia Dean.”
The fact that a vinyl record is about £35, compared with £12 for a CD, is no doubt a factor.
Tom Morgan-Freelander, the deputy editor of the technology magazine Stuff, has noticed the change over the past two years. He puts it down to consumers wanting to move away from using their phone, a better audio quality, and limited disposable income. “It’s: ‘I don’t want to spend money on a turntable and the speakers that go with it. I want to spend £150 on an all-in-one system that comes with the CD player,’” he says.
The CD revival is part of a wider fashion for retro tech. As well as the vinyl resurgence and cassettes becoming popular items to buy, there’s the vogue for wearing wired earphones over AirPods. “The vinyl revival re-established our appetite for analogue, and now we’re seeing that broader love for physical music drive a genuine surge in CD players,” confirms Katrina Mills, the category buying lead for audio and imaging at John Lewis”.
The C.D. boom might give way to the U.S.B. Artists putting albums out in this format, though I don’t feel it will catch on in the same way and be as prolific. It seems like we have enough physical formats, and there is not that same portability. A lot of teens and those in their twenties going retro with boomboxes. Others like having wired headphones and walking around with a portable C.D. player. Also, there is the optics that is a big reason for the C.D. drive: “Someone walking around with a portable CD player and wired headphones is signalling their sense of taste and cultural capital,” says brand strategist Alexi Gunner. He has labelled this trend “performative audiophilia”. Cost is a major factor. There is no real way of lowering vinyl significantly, as it costs a lot to make them and they are hefty items. Also, you have to get a turntable and cannot move around with it. Great if you want to spend some time and listen to music in one spot and enjoy the pleasures of a vinyl album. Though I am not sure how many younger listeners, especially Generation Alpha, are going to be able to invest in this. C.D.s are cheaper and they do seem to be more convenient. How you can carry a stack of then around with you. The danger is chains like HMV shrinking. Stores closing because of reduced custom. A lot of record shops only stock vinyl or may not do that many C.D.s, so people having to online. Many are buying C.D.s without having a player. Superfans collecting albums on different formats. Though the fact so many are browsing for players means that people want to actually play the compact discs. Many buy vinyl for its aesthetic quality, though C.D.s are less appealing. Physical sales are doing well, and vinyl is closing in on company disc:
“According to Music Week analysis of BPI figures based on Official Charts Company data, vinyl sales are driving that performance – and the format is closing in on CD for supremacy in terms of volume. Based on the current trajectory, vinyl should become the leading format later this year.
After 19 years of decline, album sales across all physical formats grew for a second consecutive year in 2025, maintaining 2024's 1.4% growth level to come in at 17.6m units.
During the first half of 2026, physical albums sales increased further by 3.7% year-on-year (8,125,574 units). The rate of growth for physical music increased again in Q2 with year-on-year consumption up 6.1% (3,950,111 units), compared with 1.5% growth in Q1.
The strong performance reflects another successful edition of Record Store Day, alongside major new releases and the continuing robust catalogue business.
PHOTO CREDIT: Guohua Song/Pexels
Drew Hill, MD Proper Music Distribution, said: "It’s fantastic to see physical music enjoying such a robust first half of the year, driven by double-digit growth for vinyl. While the CD has remained a stalwart format, the fact that vinyl sales are up overall, and are on course to overtake CDs in units, is a testament to the format’s incredible appeal.”
Harry Styles has the biggest physical release so far in 2026 with Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally with 157,189 physical units.
Following 100,000-plus units in the opening week for Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love, the US artist already has the second biggest physical album so far this year (66,587 physical sales in 2026.)
In the latest chart week, Muse are already performing strongly with 26,996 physical units registered in the first three days.
Based on consumption across physical, downloads and streaming, Olivia Dean’s The Art Of Loving leads the way for overall albums consumption with 384,869 units in 2026 (and 663,322 units in total since its release in September 2025). The Art Of Loving is No.3 on physical sales in 2026 (64,086 units).
Vinyl is, of course, driving the performance of physical sales with the format on course for a 19th year of consecutive growth.
Neil Gibbons, chief operating officer, Key Production Group, said: "After 19 consecutive years of growth [for vinyl], it’s great to see physical music sales continuing to accelerate, with vinyl leading the way. CD orders at Key Production have also remained steady, and our research shows the format is also finding a new audience, with nearly half of Generation Alpha – 46% – listening to CDs. This is a clear sign that all physical formats, including CDs, continue to resonate with fans of all ages, and the demand for something tangible remains strong."
The half-year vinyl results for 2026 show an impressive growth rate of 16.4% year-on-year (3,796,251 units) – beyond what you might expect almost two decades into a sales revival”.
Long may we see the all-in-one player rise. More people seeking them out. There are great portable players. The technology a bit more robust. Some younger listeners want that retro feel, though artists offering their albums on C.D. means fans can give directly to the artist and have that physical connection. I feel the C.D. is more accessible to younger listeners than vinyl. I do wonder if C.D. singles will come back. Let’s hope that this trend continues. That we see more and more people buy C.D. and the players. These new findings are so…
PLEASING to see.