Half of them can't even play it

CD sales in the US are up 58% in the first half of this year.

I know. I had to read it twice.

Here's the part that matters. About half the young people buying them don't own a CD player.

So what are they buying?

Not the music. They've got the music. It's on their phone. It's a tap away. They didn't pay for it.

They're buying an object with your name on it. Something they can hold. Proof they were there.

I just find it super interesting. Digital collectibles, physical collectibles. Who would've thought CDs would be the thing to bounce back. I don't know. I think it's cool.

CD sales are making an unexpected comeback · Read on TechCrunch

Quick thing before the how. This one's for anyone with a dedicated fan base. Doesn't have to be big. Twenty people who'd actually pay for something. You're not going to whip out CDs if you've got no one to sell them to, right? Same with vinyl. If nobody's asking yet, build the base first. That's fine. Come back to this.

If you do have people, most of you are handing them a Spotify link. That's the least interesting thing you can give someone who likes what you do.

They want to support you. They keep telling you. And there's nothing to buy.

Here's what I'd do. None of it needs money up front.

Skip vinyl. I know, it's the dream. It's also six months, a few thousand dollars, and a box in your hallway. Later.

Start with CDs. Kunaki makes them one at a time. About two dollars each in a case, made in a day, shipped straight to the fan. No minimum. No stock in your apartment.

And there's a lot of margin in them. Two dollars to make, ten to sell. Two hundred of them is two grand. On Spotify that's about half a million streams.

Then the thing that actually matters. Sign every one. Number them. One of fifty. A Sharpie and thirty seconds turns a disc into something people keep.

Don't leave it on your site forever. Drop it. Tie it to a release or a show, give it a weekend, then it's gone. Scarcity isn't a trick. It's the reason it means something.

If you've got fans in your city, drive it over. Film it. That's a post and a fan for life.

And if you're nervous about ordering, don't order. Pre-sell it. Put a goal on it. If fifty of you want this, I'll make it. Now you've risked nothing and you find out who's real.

Physical Music Is BACK · Watch on YouTube

The format's a creative choice, not a technical one. Nobody has the player anyway. CD, cassette, a lathe-cut 7-inch, a card that taps to a secret page. Pick the thing that fits your world.

What would yours be? Hit reply, I'd genuinely like to know. If enough of you tell me, I'll share a few in the next one.

Jimi
Pitch.Audio

P.S. Shout to Ragdoll for flagging this one, because he's the one that put my attention on it.

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Open questions for Jimi (resolved 2026-09-13 by the go: slot 10-13, no CTA, "Skip vinyl" as written, Kunaki named)

1. Slot. Proposed 10-13 as #12, which bumps the Gawx sequence draft (not built, not in Brevo) to 10-27. Say if you'd rather this go 10-27 and Gawx stays.
2. CTA. Two reference cards, no offer. Selling Your Sound is the obvious fit for a selling issue but I don't have a live link or price for it. Building Your Base ran in #9 and #11. Options: Selling Your Sound if there's a link, Send-Music drops (limited drops to collect emails is the same mechanic), or run it with the two cards only. v2 adds "build the base first" before the how-to, which is a natural hook for Building Your Base if you want it there.
3. "Skip vinyl." It's the line most likely to get a reply and the one most likely to annoy a DJ. It's aimed at people who haven't sold anything yet. Your call whether to soften it to "don't start with vinyl."
4. The label line. Cut in v3 on Jimi's instruction.
5. Kunaki by name. Named, not linked, so the link count stays at two. The podcast named them too. Swap for "there's a service that" if you'd rather not endorse.