Digital downloads are losing their place in between convenience and nostalgia.
In 2024, digital downloads brought in just 2 percent of recorded music revenue in the U.S., down from 43 percent at their peak just 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, vinyl records achieved their highest sales figures in 40 years.
Streaming has taken over. Vinyl refuses to go away. CDs are even making a small comeback. But downloads are quietly disappearing, and no one seems to miss them.
Digital Downloads Fade to Background Noise
There was a time when digital downloads ruled the music industry. Now, they barely register. In 2024, downloads made up just 2 percent of U.S. recorded music revenue—a steep fall from their 43 percent peak in 2012.
That decline isn’t slowing down either.
Album downloads fell by 18.6 percent last year, and individual tracks dropped by 14.9 percent.
Altogether, digital downloads only brought in $336 million. While that may sound like it’s still a lot, it’s almost nothing compared to physical formats’ earnings of more than $2 billion.
It’s not just that downloads are declining, though. It’s that they’ve lost their place in how people want to experience music.
What Exactly Is Killing Digital Downloads?
Two forces are squeezing digital downloads out of the picture. One is all about convenience. The other is about ownership and experience.
Streaming is still the biggest player in the music industry. It made up 84 percent of total revenue in 2024, with paid subscriptions reaching 100 million for the first time. That alone brought in nearly 12 billion dollars.
Even though ad-supported services like free Spotify and YouTube saw a small drop, the overall growth shows that more people are willing to pay for uninterrupted listening.
Overall streaming revenues reached a record-high $14.9 billion in 2024.
At the same time, physical formats are staging a comeback.
Vinyl sales grew again and hit 1.4 billion dollars last year. That’s the highest level since 1984 and marks 18 straight years of growth!
Vinyl also outsold CDs in units again, but CDs are holding their ground too. With 541 million dollars in revenue, they saw a small increase from the year before.
So on one end, you have listeners who want instant access on their phones. On the other, you have people who enjoy flipping through records or building a personal CD library. What’s being left behind is the in-between.
Digital downloads don’t offer the ease of streaming or the satisfaction of something you can hold. They’re getting crowded out by the best of both worlds.
What Does This Mean?
Music fans have made it clear they want two things. One is access. The other is ownership.
Streaming covers the first. It offers convenience, endless music, and no storage limits. That’s why it makes up most of the industry’s revenue.
But the continued growth of physical formats shows that many listeners also care about building a collection they can see, touch, and keep.
Downloads no longer fit into that picture. They once offered a middle ground between physical media and streaming. Now, that middle is shrinking fast.
With only 2 percent of total revenue, digital files have become the format most people are walking away from.
This shift isn’t just about formats. It’s about values. People want music that’s either always there or always theirs.
That’s the message behind the resurgence of vinyl, the quiet comeback of CDs, and the ongoing rise of paid streaming.