U.S. vinyl sales revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2025 for the first time since 1983, driven significantly by Taylor Swift's album The Life of a Showgirl. The RIAA's year-end report highlighted a 9.3 percent revenue increase alongside rising unit sales.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) released its year-end report on Wednesday, revealing that U.S. vinyl sales reached $1,042.9 billion in revenue in 2025, up 9.3 percent from $954.4 million the previous year. Units sold climbed 7.9 percent from 43.4 million in 2024 to 46.8 million in 2025. Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl led with 1.6 million vinyl units sold, outpacing others by over 1.3 million units, according to Luminate data reported by Variety. Swift offered eight distinct vinyl editions, including The Life of a Showgirl: The Crowd Is Your King, Shiny Bug, Show Business, and Tiny Bubbles in Champagne, pressed on transparent, shimmering, marbled, and sparkling vinyls. Other top vinyl sellers included Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, the Weeknd, and Tyler, the Creator. In contrast, CD sales fell 11.6 percent in units and 7.8 percent in revenue. Paid streaming subscriptions grew 6.5 percent to 106.5 million accounts, with revenue rising 6.8 percent from $5,506.5 billion to $5,881.1 billion. Overall recorded music revenue hit a record $11.5 billion, up 3.1 percent. Matt Bass, RIAA VP of Research and Gold & Platinum Operations, stated: “Fans are consuming music from the artists they love in more ways than ever, and that passion is reflected in today’s report. U.S. recorded music has demonstrated sustained growth globally, reaching $6.4 billion alone in paid subscriptions and tallying 50% of global vinyl revenue, leading the way for fans to listen and connect with their favorite music whenever, wherever and however they want.”
