Album sales

Album sales have remained volatile in recent decades. Despite having an established stronghold on the music market in the past, the proliferation of high-speed internet and cheap CD-burning hardware across the United States has allowed online piracy and CD copying to eliminate a substantial number of physical album sales over time. At the same time, online streaming sites, like YouTube, Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora and Apple Music, have provided a way for consumers to legally listen to music for free. However, widespread high-speed internet usage has also driven up digital download sales. Digital album sales have mainly increased since the RIAA started tracking them in 2004; yet, in 2014, digital album sales fell for the first time, at a slight rate of 3.2%, followed by a 6.5% decline in 2015. Despite the ease of purchasing albums online, many online sales are directed at singles rather than albums. Overall, this has caused a shift in how albums are produced and how singles are released. Compact disc sales have also lost ground, with the total volume of compact disc sales mostly declining yearly since 2000.

The recession in 2008 and 2009 undoubtedly hurt album sales, as the average consumer had less disposable income to spend. However, the concurrent rise of piracy makes this effect hard to determine. In 2011, the improving economic environment for consumers helped album sales grow slightly compared with 2010, increasing 2.1% to 350.2 million albums. This growth represents the first annual increase in album sales since 2004. However, album sales have since resumed their steady decline, as the rebound from the recession aided 2011 sales. Expanding on-demand streaming since 2011 further encroached into album sales, with the most massive declines sustained in 2018 at an overall rate of nearly 30.0%.

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in 2020 continued to negatively affect album sales as consumers curbed spending in the time as retailers temporarily shut down to comply with health and safety guidelines, hurting sales. However, the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine allowed businesses to reopen, allowing consumers access to purchase physical copies of music. Following the reopening of the economy, album sales surged 30.6% in 2021, breaking nearly ten years of declining sales starting in 2012. A reason for this trend is the rising appeal of owning physical media among consumers actively invested in the music they acquire, as LP/EP sales grew 67.3% in the same year. While mass fanbases of artists that release their music in physical formats is a trend that has been present for a long time, the interest in vinyl remains a trend that has been expanding since before this boom which can be connected with various factors being the aesthetic of such formats for younger consumers that also have a way to support their favorite artists in this way too while getting more from buying a physical release that digital albums may not provide either from special artwork or exclusive gear that comes with physical releases. As vinyls also resemble nostalgia for older buyers who grew up listening to such formats, the appeal of these physical releases is broadly appealing for both younger and older consumers alike which made them popular ways to acquire music in the period. However, sales did fall in 2022 and 2023 for albums as the pressures from inflation have made costs for more goods up which pressures consumers to buy carefully or buy less than usual to avoid racking up potential debt on their ends, which resulted in album sales declining in the year from the shock of these factors even as physical releases like vinyl releases remain popular. In 2024, album sales experienced a resurgence because of the growing appeal of vintage media formats such as vinyl and the release of new albums by popular artists. This trend is expected to continue into 2025, boosting album sales metrics.