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(CNN) -
Streaming has dominated the music industry for years, but 2021 saw a notable increase in physical album sales, thanks in part to the success of Adele's most recent album.
Both CDs and vinyl saw high sales in 2021, according to an annual year-end music data report from MRC Data, released this week.
Vinyl's resurgence in culture has been nothing short of a rocket ship.
In 2011, vinyl only accounted for 1.7% of physical music sales, and CDs the rest.
In just 10 years, that number jumped to 50.4%, meaning that vinyl has now surpassed CDs as the best-selling physical format for the first time since 1991, MRC reported.
"In recent years, I have noticed that customers prefer to physically own music, in addition to
streaming
, usually in its best form (vinyl)," said Tobago Benito, owner of record store DBS Sounds, in the MRC data summary.
He attributes that both to the inclusion of record players in movies and television, and to the joy people get from looking for a certain vinyl in a record store, one that can "bring back wonderful memories," he said.
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The increase in vinyl sales is also a significant jump from just a year ago, in 2020, when vinyl accounted for 27.5 million physical music sales, roughly 40% of all total sales.
Representing almost half of total sales now is significant.
Part of this year's success could be the release of "30," Adele's first album in six years.
On vinyl, "30" sold 108,000 copies in its first week, the second largest vinyl sales week since 1991, when MRC Data began tracking those sales.
The album was the best-selling album on vinyl this year, followed by the reissue of "Sour" by Olivia Rodrigo and "Red" by Taylor Swift.
Part of this, MRC reported, has to do with the success of Record Store Day, a popular promotion that takes place in the spring.
Sales of new releases and reissues have grown on Record Store Day since 2011, MRC said, driven by participation from popular artists.
"From Metallica giving credibility to RSD (and by extension records / record stores) through their RSD release a decade ago, to Taylor Swift, who brought the vinyl editions of their recent releases to the fore, not as a an afterthought, but as an important part of its launch, "Carl Mello, director of brand engagement at Newbury Comics, said in a statement.
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But a surprise from last year was the rebound in CD sales in the United States which increased 1.1%, from 40.2 million sales in 2020 to 40.6 million in 2021. CD sales have declined steadily for years, so the fact that they didn't actively decline last year could be significant.
One of the reasons for the increase in sales was the release of "30" by Adele and "Red (Taylor's Version)" by Taylor Swift.
Target's CD version of "30," which contained three bonus tracks, helped the album's CD version sell 378,000 copies in its first week, the biggest CD-selling week of 2021, MRC said.
Just a week earlier, "Red (Taylor's Version)" sold 146,700 copies.
It is unclear if this miniscule rise means CDs are on the rise, but it could indicate a slight shift for those still clinging to the medium.
AdeleVinyl discsTaylor Swift
