Contents
- Physical music sales statistics: global physical revenue and format growth
- Physical music sales statistics: U.S. vinyl, CD, and other-format shipments
- Physical music sales statistics: U.S. physical revenue and year-over-year changes
- Physical music sales statistics: UK vinyl sales and 2025 chart leaders
- Physical music sales statistics: first-week physical album sales channels
- Sources
Physical music sales statistics: global physical revenue and format growth
Global physical-format recorded-music revenue reached US$5.3 billion in 2025, up 8.0% year over year. IFPI attributes US$390 million of revenue growth to physical formats. That followed a 3.0% decline in 2024, marking a change in direction across the reported annual figures. These are global revenue measures; they do not describe units sold or any single national market. IFPI Global Music Report 2026
| Global physical-market indicator | Reported figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Physical-format revenue | US$5.3 billion | 2025 |
| Physical revenue growth | 8.0% | 2025 year over year |
| Revenue growth attributed to physical formats | US$390 million | 2025 |
| Physical revenue change | −3.0% | 2024 year over year |
Source: IFPI Global Music Report 2026.
Format-level rates add detail to the total. Global vinyl revenue increased 13.7% in 2025, while CD revenue rose 3.7%. Music-video revenue, which IFPI groups under physical, increased 10.8%. These rates describe revenue movement for their respective formats, so the overall physical growth rate should not be applied to each one. IFPI Global Music Report 2026
Physical formats represented 16.6% of global recorded-music revenue in 2025. This share uses total recorded-music revenue as its denominator and provides context for the US$5.3 billion physical total. Regionally, Asia accounted for 45.1% of global physical revenues in 2025. That is a share of physical revenue by region, distinct from physical’s share of all recorded-music revenue. IFPI Global Music Report 2026
Together, the global measures describe different dimensions: the revenue total, annual movement, format-specific growth rates, and the physical category’s relative weight in recorded music. They do not provide a global unit count, and the regional share should not be read as Asia’s share of all recorded music. IFPI Global Music Report 2026
Physical music sales statistics: U.S. vinyl, CD, and other-format shipments
RIAA reports U.S. shipments in millions of units. In 2025, vinyl shipments were 46.8 million units, CD shipments were 29.5 million, and other-physical shipments were 2.18 million. These are shipment figures, not a direct count of consumer purchases. The report notes that some figures are adjusted for rounding. RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025
| U.S. physical format | Units shipped in 2025 (millions) |
|---|---|
| Vinyl | 46.8 |
| CD | 29.5 |
| Other physical | 2.18 |
Source: RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025.
RIAA’s mid-year report provides comparable six-month shipment totals for vinyl and CD. From January through June 2025, U.S. vinyl shipments were 22.0 million units and CD shipments were 12.0 million. For January through June 2026, the corresponding figures were 26.5 million vinyl units and 17.5 million CD units. Each period covers the first 6 months of its year, not a full-year total. The comparison is limited to the two formats shown in both periods. RIAA Mid-Year Recorded Music Revenue Report 2026
| U.S. format | January–June 2025 shipments (millions) | January–June 2026 shipments (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| Vinyl | 22.0 | 26.5 |
| CD | 12.0 | 17.5 |
Source: RIAA Mid-Year Recorded Music Revenue Report 2026.
The annual and mid-year tables answer related but different questions. The 2025 figures include 3 physical categories for the year, while the paired January–June figures allow a like-period view of vinyl and CD across 2025 and 2026. No mid-year other-physical figure is included in the cited observations, so the comparison here remains focused on the 2 series with measurements in both periods. RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025; RIAA Mid-Year Recorded Music Revenue Report 2026
Physical music sales statistics: U.S. physical revenue and year-over-year changes
RIAA’s physical-format value figures are U.S. wholesale dollar values in millions, net after returns. In 2025, vinyl wholesale value was US$1,042.9 million, up 9.3%. CD value was US$312.4 million, down 7.8%. Those value changes are separate from unit changes: a revenue growth rate should not be treated as a shipment growth rate. RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025
Other physical formats had a wholesale value of US$25.8 million, up 16.5% in 2025. Total physical wholesale value was US$1,381.0 million, an increase of 5.0%. The format rows therefore show different year-over-year value movements within the reported physical market. The values are wholesale amounts net after returns, not retail prices or consumer spending totals. RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025
| U.S. physical category | 2025 wholesale value (US$ millions) | Value change in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Vinyl | 1,042.9 | +9.3% |
| CD | 312.4 | −7.8% |
| Other physical | 25.8 | +16.5% |
| Total physical | 1,381.0 | +5.0% |
Values are wholesale, net after returns. Source: RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025.
The revenue-composition graphic labels physical formats as 12% of U.S. recorded-music revenue in 2025. The share is rounded in the graphic and uses total U.S. recorded-music revenue as its denominator. Separately, RIAA describes U.S. vinyl as having 19 years of growth through 2025. That statement identifies a reported run of vinyl growth; it does not supply annual values for each of those years. RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025
The unit and wholesale-value measures should be read alongside one another without substituting one for the other. RIAA reports 2025 shipment volumes in the physical table and separately reports wholesale value and its year-over-year change. The observations show that different formats can have different value trends, but they do not by themselves explain why those movements occurred. RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025
Physical music sales statistics: UK vinyl sales and 2025 chart leaders
Official Charts reports UK vinyl sales of 7.6 million units in 2025, up 13.3% year over year. It describes the result as an 18th consecutive year of growth for the revived format and reports an uplift of 900,000 sales on the prior year. These are UK chart-sales figures, a different measure and market from RIAA’s U.S. wholesale shipments and revenue. Official Charts: The best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2025
The year-end album leaders illustrate how opening-week figures sit within larger reported totals since release. Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl sold 147,000 UK vinyl copies since its October 2025 release; 125,000 of those sales came in its opening week. Sam Fender’s People Watching sold 73,000 UK vinyl copies since its February 2025 release, including 43,000 in its first week. The release-to-date totals and opening-week figures describe different windows. Official Charts: The best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2025
| UK vinyl album | Copies sold since release | Opening-week copies |
|---|---|---|
| The Life of a Showgirl | 147,000 | 125,000 |
| People Watching | 73,000 | 43,000 |
Source: Official Charts: The best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2025.
These album examples are specific chart-reported results, not a complete account of the UK vinyl market. The market-level 7.6 million total and the album-level release and first-week sales have different scopes. In particular, the two albums’ sales figures should not be used as a breakdown of total UK vinyl sales; the report gives them as leading releases within its year-end coverage. Official Charts: The best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2025
Physical music sales statistics: first-week physical album sales channels
Luminate’s analysis examined 194 different studio albums that charted on the Billboard 200 in 2025 across selected genres. Within that sample, direct-to-consumer (D2C) accounted for 78% of first-week Pop physical album sales. Luminate also reports D2C at over 50% of first-week physical album sales in R&B/Hip-Hop and over 50% in Rock. These are channel shares for the analyzed album sample and genres. Luminate Year-End Music Report 2025
| Selected genre | D2C share of first-week physical album sales |
|---|---|
| Pop | 78% |
| R&B/Hip-Hop | Over 50% |
| Rock | Over 50% |
Source: Luminate Year-End Music Report 2025.
Luminate’s percentages describe the share of first-week physical album sales attributed to D2C in the stated analysis. The findings do not establish the same channel mix for all albums, every genre, or physical sales over a longer period. The 194-album sample and selected-genre scope matter when interpreting the percentages, while the reported categories provide a compact view of how D2C featured in first-week physical sales across Pop, R&B/Hip-Hop, and Rock. Luminate Year-End Music Report 2025