DVDs and CDs on the rise again

The “rebirth” of the CD was inevitable the moment vinyl became a vanity purchase.

Not long ago, I hopped on Amazon and ordered the box set of Better Call Saul on Bluray.

It was a familiar and comfortable purchase – I also had a voucher to please my wallet – and I felt a little like a rebel in doing it.

Sure, I could BUY it from Apple TV or STREAM it from one of the subscription streaming VOD platforms, but that’s getting more and more of a hassle these days with content appearing, and expiring from platforms.

Seems I am not alone.

Gen Z is driving sales of DVDs and CD sales. Apparently, they are seeking retro physical media, in a desire for true ownership, which follows a number of “digital detox” trends that we’re seeing lately. They are discovering the joy of the tactile experience, a tangible asset.

All my friends also hopped on the vinyl trend. I actually can’t even find older people who have CDs, whenever I tell them I listen to music on CD they’re always like ‘I used to have those!’.

If you, like me, have a lot of physical media on display in your home, it tells the story of who you are. I remember going around to a friends house to find they had a WALL of DVDs. Another friend, who is a musician, has a huge shelf of weird instruments.

After reading a few articles about this, it seems this is some kind of rebellion (or maybe we say a revival) against streaming fatigue.

Discogs have reported some astounding numbers. Their global community of record collectors added 12.7 million CDs to their Wantlists in 2025 which is a +47% increase compared to last year. So we aren’t even talking about new releases. Discogs is a haven for back catalogue, often rare music and priced on the availability and quality of the item.

Yeah, as a small time musician, I sure hope this continues. We make more on our largely DIY CD merch sales than you’d expect. Certainly more than the pittance Spotify gives us.

You may have been to a concert recently. Did you check out the merch stand? Yep. Vinyl and CDs and sometimes even cassettes are there among the t-shirts and tote bags. It’s real.

A number of Gen Z’s are also very savvy if not picky about the quality of the audio, or video that they are watching. They want 4K not HD. The balance of what the streamers provide, vs the speed and cost of your data plan is yet another thing of realisation. These things have been so ubiquitous as the technology as evolved, but today – quality matters.

I’m a millennial who collects 4K blu rays and regular blu rays, DVDs can suck it save for something that hasn’t been released on blu ray. But the main reason is because the video and sound quality from movie streaming services is garbage in comparison to the discs.

Gen Z has finally found physical formats and in no great surprise, are enjoying the offline nature of enjoying music and movies again.

No algorithms, no AI slop and no ads.

1. Higher fidelity
2. You are not the product
3. Nobody can take it from you.

The smarties are realising it’s more cost effective in the long run.

Maybe this is just natural evolution, maybe it’s the beginning of a generation that is starting to mature. Maybe the patterns of the generations before them are rubbing off?

Maybe the shiny new toy has lost it’s appeal.

Have you recently opened up a streaming platform, knowing what you want then get distracted by a homepage flooded with endless recommendations. Eventually, it starts to feel overwhelming and all that content just blurs together into one giant, forgettable backlog?

Maybe they’ve had enough of being poked and prodded by data companies behind the streamers and social platforms that track their every move, perhaps the AI content, AI recommendations, AI voices and images, has become too much. Non stop content, the scroll, the dopamine hit after dopamine hit creates fatigue.

Or, maybe…  it’s just cool.

Love it. 

Whatever the reason, it feels like Gen Z have kicked off their designer shoes, and are putting their bare feet on the earth for the first time, and connecting.

We’ve noticed, and we like it, just don’t drive up the prices too much!