RIAA report shows CD sales declining at alarming rate, vinyl striving for market longevity, and streaming reigning supremeVinyl Record Store

RIAA report shows CD sales declining at alarming rate, vinyl striving for market longevity, and streaming reigning supreme

The sales trajectories of CDs and vinyl continue to diverge in the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) mid-year report. The RIAA’s assessment of the music market compares the first half of 2017 with that of 2018, a stretch of time in which CD sales continued to plummet by 41.5 percent, while vinyl accomplished a 12.6 percent increase. Although the CD is a physical format that did sell copies by the millions from 2017-2018, the RIAA’s report indicates that shipments of physical formats dropped by 25 percent, a significant rate of decline that exceeds that of previous years.

The CD’s swift fall from favor contrasts with vinyl’s annual ascension, a format that holds a unique attraction for listeners given its audio quality and vintage character. “I definitely believe the next decade is going to be streaming plus vinyl — streaming in the car and kitchen, vinyl in the living room and the den. Those will be the two format,” Jack White told Rolling Stone. The RIAA’s information identified a 28 percent growth of the streaming marking between 2017-2018, a number that only validates the longevity that White predicts for streaming. The RIAA’s report follows the U.S. Senate’s recent unanimous passing of The Music Modernization Act, which can be expected to bring pivotal change for all producers active within the music industry.

H/T: Rolling Stone

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