Music Industry

How’s the Canadian sales battle between CDs and vinyl this week?

This is a fun horse race. Which format, CD or vinyl, will be the champion when it comes to Canadian sales by the end of the year. Here are the latest data from Luminate, the monitor of music consumption in Canada.

  • Total CDs sold in Canada last week: 33,418 (down 4.2% from the previous week)
  • Total vinyl units sold in Canada las week: 25,842 (down 3.6% from the previous week)
  • Total CDs sold so far this year: 703,230 (down 15.8% from this time in 2023)
  • Total vinyl units sold so far this year: 642,279 (up 35.5% from a year ago)

Bottom line? CDs still lead in terms of raw unit sales but the gap is slowly closing. Meanwhile, more revenue is being derived from vinyl because records are so damn expensive and the margins are much higher. And let’s remember that the above figures only apply to new vinyl sales, not used records sold in indie record shops, record shows, and online.

On more thing: streaming in Canada.

  • Total songs streamed in Canada last week: 2,833,008,507 (up 0.5% from the previous week)
  • Total songs streamed in Canada so far in 2024: 59,417,671,476 (up 7.2% from this point in 2023)

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39682 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

2 thoughts on “How’s the Canadian sales battle between CDs and vinyl this week?

  • Hi Alan do you know how much Taylor’s The Tortured Poets Department has sold so far in Canada?

    Reply

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