Direct to Consumer (D2C) music sales are up 20% to 4.4 million in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2022, according to Luminate’s Mid-Year Report. Of the individual product types, vinyl sales were up 26% to 3.6 million, and CDs sales increased by 15% to 1.7 million. Cassette sales were down 14.6% year-over-year.
Vinyl accounted for 60.3% of D2C product sales, followed by CDs (38.3%), and cassettes (1.4%). According to Luminate, one in nine U.S. vinyl sales were D2C sales, such as being purchased through an artist's website.
The rock genre accounts for the most sales overall, accounting for 44.6% of total D2C sales. Sales of pop music accounted for 12.8% of total sales, followed by R&B/hip-hop (10.9%), world (9.6%), and country (5.6%). Sales of music that doesn’t fit into the five specific genres accounted for 16.5% of total sales.
Additionally, more than 60% of total D2C product sales are current releases and 75% of CD and cassette sales are of current music.
The report reveals that 42% of Gen Z “wish artists provided more merchandise options” and are 33% more likely to plan on buying artist apparel in the next six months. Gen Z is 32% more likely to plan on purchasing accessories compared to the general U.S. population. Sixty percent of the U.S. general population have purchased artist merchandise in the past and the most popular place to purchase is in-person at a live music event.
Luminate says 15% of the population are Super Fans – those who engage with artists and their content in more than five different ways. Super Fans spent 80% more money on music each month than the average U.S. music listener. Physical music buyers (vinyl/CDs/cassettes) are more than two times as likely (+128%) to be music Super Fans. Additionally, U.S. millennial music listeners spend 22% more and Gen Z spend 13% more on music each month than the average music listener.
