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It took almost two decades for the CD industry to register an increase in sales.
According to Axios, it is a resurgence of music in physical format.
Despite being a significant increase, the CD is far from what is recorded by streaming.
For the first time in almost two decades, CD sales grew significantly in the United Statesalthough they are far from what is recorded by streaming.
In short, digitization has been key to the way music is consumed today, since we live in an era in which platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Deezeramong many others.
Spotify, which is the leading streaming platform in the market, was founded in 2006 and over the years it has been evolving and collecting until reaching, in June 2021, 365 million monthly users, of which 165 million use the Premium versionthis according to information from Statistical.
Currently, we can talk about a well-established streaming industry, where both established musicians and new proposals have Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and other services, a great tool to reach more listeners.
However, data published by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) talk about a significant increase in CD sales. In that sense, shipments increased from 31.6 million in 2020 to 46.6 million in 2021, and the format’s revenue increased from $483.2 million to $584.2 million.
Of course, these numbers are a far cry from what the record industry recorded in the year 2000, which peaked in sales, when nearly a billion albums were shipped on CD in the United States.
What is the reason for the increase in CD sales?
According to what you point out Axios, the fact that CD sales have increased at a time when streaming reigns supremespeaks, among other things, of a physical music revival.
In this context, vinyl sales have also grown significantly in recent years, considered one of the best formats for listening to music.
In United States, the vinyl format reached sales of up to 39.7 million units in 2021 alonewhich represents one billion dollars in monetary income.
The streaming industry has been key, at present, for the new generations that are discovering new music every day; however, for artists, it seems to have fewer advantages than one would think.
The case of Spotify has been one of the most notorious, a platform that, although it is the market leader with more than 350 million registered users, has received a series of criticisms by the musicians themselvesand it is that the company from Stockholm, Sweden, pays between $0.003 and $0.005 dollars per reproduction, that is, less than a dollar.
On the other hand, according to RIAA premium subscriptions to the different streaming platforms recorded revenues of 8.6 billion dollars in 2021 alone; however, the increase in sales of the CD is rooted in a much more personal and, perhaps, even nostalgic aspect.
Let’s remember that the CD is a much more complex format; a physical object that has, on many occasions, an artistic work in which the musicians take great care to present something new to the consumer.
Also, on the consumer side, it is often thought that they are purchasing a more complete work of art and that, by purchasing the physical CD, the money goes directly to the artist.
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