RIAA Reports 25% Gain in US Physical Media Sales in H1 2026

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has released its H1 2026 report, with paid streaming growth and major leaps in vinyl, CD and sync performance helping drive recorded music revenue to $5.97 billion, up 6.9% YoY.

Streaming and digital performance:

• Subscription streaming was up 5.5% YoY to 111.1 million identified subs, and $3.11 billion in revenue (up 7.8%).

• Paid non-Premium contributed $239.1 million (down 9% YoY), while “free streaming” was up 3.7% YoY to $899.6 million.

• Permanent downloads revenue dipped 12.7% YoY to $121 million.

The physical media revival:

• Physical revenue was up 25.9% YoY to $731.5 million.

• Vinyl sales contributed $543.8 million, a jump of 17.7% YoY, with 26.5 million units sold in the US (up 20.9% YoY).

• Revenue from CDs was up 58.6% to $171.1 million, with 17.5 million units sold, up 45.7%.

• “Other” physical, including cassettes and more, registered $16.5 million, a revenue leap of 44.9% YoY, with sales of 1.6 million units, a 73.4% jump YoY.

Sync:

• The sync category grew by 18.2% YoY to $231.8 million.

What they said:

• Mitch Glazier, RIAA Chairman and CEO: “As US music revenues continue to grow across formats, labels are strengthening connections between artists, fans and the platforms delivering creative work. That partnership is driving engagement in new and expanding ways to create opportunities that will lift up the entire music community for years to come.”