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CDs were the most popular method for listening to music for over 20 years. Unsurprisingly, something new eventually came to take over…but then something old did, too.
It’s completely normal for a new technology to rise to prominence and then get replaced by the next new technology. Music is one industry where this has played out over and over again. However, the CD is particularly interesting because it totally obliterated the old guard and then fell behind it again later on. That almost never happens in the world of technology.
The Meteoric Rise of CDs
When CDs were first made commercially available in the 1980s, vinyl records were already on their decline. Phonograph records (like vinyl) had essentially been the go-to method for listening to music since the early 1900s, but cassette tapes took over and stayed on top until 1990.
That’s whenCDs became the most popular form of listening to music, and their popularity can’t be understated. At their peak in December 2002, CDs accounted for a staggering 95% of all music sold in the U.S.Ninety-five. For comparison, the previous front-runner, cassettes, only peaked at 55%. CDs had become more popular than practically any music standard before it.
But why did CDs have such massive success? Well, a number of reasons.
The only other music standard that may have been more popular in its heyday was vinyl, but during the CD’s reign, vinyl sales plummeted to a measly 0.2% of the market. As we’ll find out later, though, vinyl was not ready to go away for good.
Digital Comes to Take Over
As much as CDs had going for them, something “new and improved” eventually came along: digital music. In July 2011, CD sales were surpassed by digital downloads. Three years later, CDs fell into third place as they fell behind streaming, which would take over the music world by the end of 2014.
Digital music offers several advantages over CDs and other physical media.
As of mid-year 2024, digital music is the dominant force in the industry. 84% of music revenue in the U.S. is through streaming. It’s far from perfect, but streaming is simply more convenient and cost-effective than CDs–that’s what matters to most people.
This is usually how it goes. A new standard comes along, and the old standards fade away into nothingness. However, in the case of CDs, it’s not that simple.
Somehow, Vinyl Returned
CDs are unique because they’ve actually had two opportunities to be popular, which almost never happens in technology. You’ll remember that vinyl sales dropped to around 0.2% of the market during the height of CD popularity. But as CDs started to fall, vinyl sales slowly began to rise again.
In May 2019, vinyl sales in the U.S. officially passed CDs once again. A decade after CDs had completely dominated the market and shrank vinyl sales to nearly nothing, they ended up behind them again–and it didn’t stop. As of mid-year 2024, vinyl sales more than triple CD sales.
Vinyl stood the test of time, but CDs didn’t. Why is that?
Will CDs Ever Make a Comeback?
While streaming reigns supreme for its convenience and affordability, music lovers are drawn to physical media for the opposite reasons. Vinyl offers a more tangible and ritualistic experience that people enjoy despite being more expensive. CDs ended up in the awkward position of being a physical media format that’s too similar to digital music.
The story may not be over yet for CDs, though. As more and more people become annoyed with subscriptions and streaming company’s poor treatment of artists, CDs offer an easy and affordable way to get high-fidelity digital music files–even bettter than digital downloads in some instances. Did CDs fail to stand the test of time, or have we not waited long enough?
