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In 2024, a total of 32.9 million physical CDs were shipped in the United States. However, this figure marks a considerable decrease from a decade earlier, when shipments were still above 100 million. More than 900 million CDs were shipped in the United States at the turn of the millenium, but the product has experienced a large decline in popularity in general since. 

Physical music sales

Seen as the successor to vinyl records and cassette tapes, compact discs or CDs were one of the most popular prerecorded music formats for much of the 1990s and early 2000s. Competition, first in the form of digital music formats and then streaming, has led to a massive decline in total album sales, with the CD format being hit particularly hard. For five years now, music streaming revenue accounted for over 80Ìý percent of total industry revenue partially thanks to the ability of these platforms to provide users with instant access to an endless online library of music which can be enjoyed via any device at any time. While most physical album sales have suffered, vinyl albums have experienced a resurgence in recent years. The format’s total sales figures increased significantly in each year since 2010.