2026 has been a good one for the music industry so far, at least when it comes to revenues.
That’s the key takeaway from a new mid-year report released by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on Tuesday (Sept. 1), which shows that U.S. recorded music revenues for the first half of the year are up 6.9 percent when compared with the same period in 2025.
For the first half of 2026, U.S. recorded music revenue has hit $6 billion. Streaming, expectedly, still takes the biggest chunk of the proverbial pie with a reported 82 percent of total revenue ($4.9 billion).
As RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier sees it, these numbers owe much to how labels and artists have adapted their approach to fan-engagement in recent years.
“As U.S. music revenues continue to grow across formats, labels are strengthening connections between artists, fans, and the platforms delivering creative work,” Glazier says of the mid-year findings. “That partnership is driving engagement in new and expanding ways to create opportunities that will lift up the entire music community for years to come.”
Taking a closer look, there are other noteworthy stats included in the RIAA report. For example, while streaming is still king in terms of sheer revenue, those who prefer to maintain a more tangible relationship with the works they love are putting up some serious numbers in their own right.
Physical revenues, in fact, enjoyed a bump of just under 26 percent in the first half of 2026. Broken down further, vinyl and CDs grew by 17.7 percent and 58.6 percent, respectively.
In an ideal world, those physical stats will see an even bigger jump with the next RIAA report. Physical media is always worth the extra effort.
