Rob Sheffield writes a lovely ode to the CD (not sure he really proved the CDs are back, although in 2021, CD sales increased for the first time in 17 years): "It’s an inarguable fact that music sales reached their all-time peak when the CD was king. No audio device did a sharper job of separating fans from their 20-dollar bills. People loved to buy those digital discs, in numbers that look crazy now. We all spent the Nineties going to the 'record store' ('CD stores' never existed, even though most record stores had no vinyl), browsing the racks, taking something weird home, listening all the way through. You invested time and emotional energy, instead of giving up quick as you do with streams. The disc encouraged you to turn off your 'meh' reflex and let yourself hear whatever weird shit was going on".

Sales of CDs in the US increased from 40.16 million units in 2020 to 40.59 million in 2021, marking the first time CD sales have increased on a year-over-year basis since 2004. Vinyl album sales volume increased a massive 50.4% to 41.7 million. Billboard via Yahoo.

The Recording Academy has called a halt to its annual 'Grammy Nominees' CD series after 25 years of featuring artists nominated for the American Academy award. Fifteen volumes in the annual series made the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with two volumes - in 2013 and 2014 - climbing as high as No. 2. The main franchise sold 9,8 million copies, with sales dwindling in recent years, Billboard reports.

154 million albums were either streamed, bought or downloaded the UK last year, the largest amount since 2006, when the figure stood at 161.4 million. The majority of sales (three quarters) were made through streaming - fans streamed 114 billion songs last year, a new record (1,000 streams generate one "sale"). Just three years ago, […]

A new branch of HMV opened in Birmingham today (October 11), the biggest entertainment store in Europe - it's almost the size of 12 tennis courts. HMV almost went bankrupt, when Sunrise Records owner Doug Putman bought the company, keeping over 100 stores open, though 27 ended up closing. The new Birmingham store, to be […]