Vinyl sales surpassed CDs for the first time in 35 years as records make 'remarkable resurgence'

• Vinyl sales beat out CDs for the first time since 1987, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
• While streaming still reigns supreme, physical music sales are making a "remarkable resurgence," RIAA said. 
• Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Olivia Rodrigo topped vinyl sales this year, per Luminate. 

Time to dust off the old turntable, vinyl records are having a major comeback. 

For the first time in more than three decades, vinyl records outsold CDs, according to the Recording Industry Association of America's annual revenue report.

In 2022, 41 million vinyl units were sold compared to 33 million CDs, highlighting a "remarkable resurgence" of the physical music format, per the report released Thursday. Vinyl records made up a total of 70% of all physical music sales in 2022, bringing in a total of $1.2 billion in revenue, according to RIAA. 

Not since 1987 has vinyl led physical music sales, after the rise of the compact disc revolutionized the way Americans consumed music. And while sales of both formats took a nosedive in the early aughts thanks to streaming platforms like iTunes and Spotify, each has made a surprising comeback in recent years.

There appears to be several factors at play in the vinyl revival, including burgeoning interest among younger demographics like Gen Z and millennials. According to Luminate's 2022 annual report, Gen Z listeners were 25% more likely to purchase vinyl records than the average music listener. 

The pandemic, too, played a role in vinyl's reawakening, as homebound Americans sought out new hobbies, Jason McGuire, general manager of the record label Stones Throw, told the Los Angeles Times in January 2022.

"Lots of folks were stuck at home working or received stimulus money early on in the pandemic and couldn't spend it on the same things as before, so they invested in their living spaces and home listening setups including turntables and hi-fi," McGuire said. "I think that's still carrying on today, almost two years into the pandemic."

Though vinyl is making gains and reaching new generations, streaming still reigns supreme, accounting for 84% of total music revenue in 2022, per RIAA. Still, vinyl sales are on the rise even as supply issues and bottlenecks plague the industry and companies struggle to meet demand. 

"Everybody's in growth mode now," Alex Cushing, co-founder of record production company Hand Drawn Pressing, told Grammy.com in July 2022. 

2022 vinyl sales were led by artists like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Olivia Rodrigo, who held the top three spots in most-sold records, according to Luminate's report. Also in the top 10 were classic rock artists such as Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles. 

Swift, who released multiple versions of her album "Midnights" in October 2022, sold a total of 1.58 million records in the course of a week — the largest release in seven years, according to Luminate.