It's 2026: Why Physical Media Refuses to Die
- JCP
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Streaming makes listening to music easier than it’s ever been—and somehow, also easier to take for granted. When everything is available all the time, nothing feels urgent. Maybe that’s why physical media hasn’t disappeared the way we expected. Despite the convenience of streaming, people are still buying vinyl and CDs, and not just out of nostalgia.
Do the numbers support that we are still buying physical media?
The numbers don’t suggest a comeback in the dramatic sense. Physical music sales rise, dip, and level off—but they don’t vanish. And that persistence says more than a headline ever could. In an era where music is often treated as background noise, choosing a physical album feels like a quiet act of intention. With that said, and since we all love charts, let's take a look at some numbers for CD and vinyl album sales from 2020 to 2024 -
Chart's sources (via ChatGPT) -
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/global-recorded-music-revenues-hit-25-9bn-in-2021-up-18-5-yoy
We can see a steady rise until '24 when it dipped slightly (and it’s my understanding the numbers dipped slightly in the first half of '25 as well), but they certainly are not going away.
They’re still here—smaller, sure, but stubborn in a way that feels meaningful. The last album I bought wasn’t because I needed it. I could already stream it, add it to a playlist, and hear it whenever I wanted. But I bought it anyway—because I wanted to own the experience, not just access it. That small choice got me thinking about why physical music keeps hanging on, even in a world that’s made it mostly unnecessary.
There’s something different about putting a record on the turntable or sliding a CD into a player. It asks you to slow down, even if just a little. No algorithm, no shuffle—just an album playing the way it was meant to be heard. That ritual might seem old-fashioned, but it’s exactly why physical music still matters to some of us.
Vinyl & CDs Aren't Better—They're Different (And That’s the Point)
The cost of buying one CD could get you a month of streaming. The cost of buying one vinyl record could get you several months of a streaming service. You also need the space to store the media, and the equipment to play it on. And of course, there will be those who say the sound of lossless streaming is technically & sonically superior to physical media, especially vinyl.
I acknowledge all of that. In fact, I argue that before plunging into physical media, you should weigh all of those things. So why do some of us do it? The pride of ownership - not just "renting" your music - is strong. That moment when holding a record feels different than tapping “play” on a device. Physical media is surviving, not because it’s efficient, but because it’s intentional. You actively listen instead of scrolling, letting an album dictate your mood instead of an algorithm.
It Doesn't Have to Be Either/Or
Getting into vinyl or CDs doesn't mean you have to quit streaming entirely. I don't have an option to play CDs in my car, so I still stream when I am driving. I stream when I listen to music while working. After all, it is 2026. I'm not suggesting we shun technology. But in the evening, pulling a record from the shelf as I read the liner notes while the first track plays? The world slips away. It's just me and the music. No screens, no algorithms. And that outweighs all of the inconveniences. If you're interested in seeing my physical collection of music, check it out here on my Discogs profile. Maybe you'll get some ideas! If you're on Discogs as well, feel free to follow me.
