According to a recent report from The Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA), physical music sales beat digital downloads in 2017 in the US.
That said, the difference between physical and digital sales is a mere 2% between 17% and 15% respectively. Streaming still dominates the music market, taking up 65% of the total listenership.
This isn’t to say, also, that physical sales are growing. In fact, physical sale dropped 4% last year while downloads fell 25%. The report notes that this is “a lower rate of decline than recent years.” This is due to vinyl sales’ growth of 10%, while other formats saw a decline, Fact reports.