Animated Chart: The Rise and Fall of Music Sales, by Format (1973-2021)
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Animated Chart: The Rise and Fall of Music Sales, by Format (1973-2021)

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The Rise and Fall of Music Sales, by Format (1973-2021)

We live in a world of music. Whether when driving to work or jamming out at home, people around the world like to have their favorite tunes playing in the background.

But while our love for music has been constant, the way we consume media has evolved drastically. The past 50 years have seen many different music formats used to access these tunes, mirroring society’s shift from analog to digital.

This video, created by James Eagle using data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), highlights sales of different music formats in the U.S. over the last 50 years.

Vinyl

Up until the late 1980s, vinyl dominated the music format industry, earning billions of dollars in sales annually. Records of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run or Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon were some of the top selling albums available.

Vinyl is said to provide its listeners with analog sounds that reverberate and the warm notes of almost-live music. For vinyl users and enthusiasts to this day, the music produced by these sleek yet massive records is unparalleled.

8-Track

If you’re a millennial (or younger), you may have never heard of the 8-track. But this music format played an integral part in the history of music.

When the booming automotive vehicle industry found it challenging to translate the music experience to cars using vinyl, it looked to the “Stereo 8” eight-track cartridge, better known as the 8-track. This cartridge used an analog magnetic tape and provided 90 minutes of continuous music play time.

8-track carved a niche for itself much before the advent of cassettes and CDs. And through the proliferation of vehicles, 8-track sales climbed to reach a peak revenue of $900 million in 1978.

Cassettes

The era of cassettes pushed 8-tracks into the history of music in the early 1980s. These pocket-sized tapes were more convenient to use than 8Tracks and quickly spread worldwide.

By 1989, the cassette format reached its peak revenues of $3.7 billion.

CDs

First released in 1982, the Compact Disc or CD came into the music market as the successor to the vinyl record.

Developed by Philips and Sony, sales of the sleek and portable CD grew quickly as home and car stereos alike added CD functionality. The format brought in $13.3 billion in revenue in both 1999 and 2000. To date, no other music format has reached the same milestone since.

Digital Music Formats

When it comes to preferred music formats over time, convenience (and cost) seem to have been the biggest catalysts of change.

From the start of the early 2000s, CDs had started to be replaced by other forms of digital storage and distribution. The massive shift to internet consumption and the introduction of digital music, available through downloads, pushed audio CD sales down rapidly.

The launch of streaming platforms like Spotify in 2006 exacerbated this decline, with CD sales dropping by around $4 billion in five years.

Digital sales continued to evolve. Ringtone sales alone brought in $1.1 billion in 2007, and in 2012, the revenues from downloads shot up to a peak of $2.9 billion. But music streaming platforms kept climbing through 2021, and will likely continue to be the future face of music consumption.

RankMusic formatsRevenue in 2021
1Streaming$11.5 billion
2Vinyl$1.0 billion
3CD$0.6 billion
4Downloads$0.5 billion
Other$1.4 billion
Total$15.1 billion

Music streaming and subscription services pushed the accessibility of music to new highs, especially with free ad-supported platforms.

In 2021, streaming secured the music industry a whopping $11.5 billion in sales, good for 76% of the total. If it keeps growing in popularity and accessibility, the format could potentially challenge the peak popularity of CDs in the late 90s.

The Vintage Comeback?

There’s no doubt that digital music formats are getting increasingly popular with every passing year. However, one of our vintage and beloved music formats—the vinyl record—seems to be making a comeback.

According to the RIAA database, the revenue earned by LP/EP sales has shot up to $1.0 billion in 2021, its highest total since the mid-1980s.

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Ranked: 40 Best Countries in the World, According to People

This 2024 ranking reveals Switzerland tops the list of best countries, with Japan and the U.S. close behind—see why quality of life still reigns.

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This cropped infographic ranks and maps the 40 best countries in the world according to a global survey conducted in 2024.

Ranked: 40 Best Countries in the World, According to People

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Key Takeaways

  • Switzerland tops the 2024 “Best Countries” ranking from U.S. News & World Report.
  • Survey respondents gave Switzerland high marks for business (#2), quality of life (#3), social purpose (#7) and cultural influence (#8).

The best country in the world is the one you live in.

Or… not?

This infographic spotlights the 40 countries that the world perceives to be the “best.”

Like most efforts to quantify a qualitative measure, this ranking reflects public perceptions, not hard data. However, countries did have to meet certain GDP, tourism, and FDI thresholds to be included in the race.

Data for this infographic is sourced from U.S. News & World Report in partnership with Wharton and WPP. They asked more than 17,000 people to judge 87 nations across 73 attributes grouped in 10 subrankings.

ℹ️ Their survey was conducted between March 22nd–May 23rd, 2024.

Skip to the last section to read the full methodology breakdown, or visit the source’s explanation page here.

This Small European Country is the Best in the World

From its snow-capped peaks to its powerhouse financial sector, Switzerland has secured the public’s vote as the world’s best country in 2024.

RankCountryRegion
1🇨🇭 SwitzerlandWestern Europe
2🇯🇵 JapanEastern Asia
3🇺🇸 U.S.Northern America
4🇨🇦 CanadaNorthern America
5🇦🇺 AustraliaOceania
6🇸🇪 SwedenNorthern Europe
7🇩🇪 GermanyWestern Europe
8🇬🇧 UKNorthern Europe
9🇳🇿 New ZealandOceania
10🇩🇰 DenmarkNorthern Europe
11🇳🇴 NorwayNorthern Europe
12🇫🇷 FranceWestern Europe
13🇳🇱 NetherlandsWestern Europe
14🇸🇬 SingaporeSouth-Eastern Asia
15🇮🇹 ItalySouthern Europe
16🇨🇳 ChinaEastern Asia
17🇦🇪 UAEWestern Asia
18🇰🇷 South KoreaEastern Asia
19🇪🇸 SpainSouthern Europe
20🇫🇮 FinlandNorthern Europe
21🇦🇹 AustriaWestern Europe
22🇮🇸 IcelandNorthern Europe
23🇧🇪 BelgiumWestern Europe
24🇮🇪 IrelandNorthern Europe
25🇶🇦 QatarWestern Asia
26🇬🇷 GreeceSouthern Europe
27🇱🇺 LuxembourgWestern Europe
28🇹🇭 ThailandSouth-Eastern Asia
29🇵🇹 PortugalSouthern Europe
30🇧🇷 BrazilSouth America
31🇹🇷 TurkeyWestern Asia
32🇸🇦 Saudi ArabiaWestern Asia
33🇮🇳 IndiaSouthern Asia
34🇲🇽 MexicoCentral America
35🇪🇬 EgyptNorthern Africa
36🇷🇺 RussiaEastern Europe
37🇵🇱 PolandEastern Europe
38🇲🇾 MalaysiaSouth-Eastern Asia
39🇲🇦 MoroccoNorthern Africa
40🇿🇦 South AfricaSouthern Africa

Survey respondents ranked Switzerland highly for business (#2), quality of life (#3), social purpose (#7) and cultural influence (#8).

For the hard data enthusiasts, Switzerland ranks third by GDP per capita, ($105,000), boosted by its enormous banking sector known for its secrecy.

It’s fourth by GNI per capita ($95,070), which removes the effects of outside financial flows entering the country.

Economic Might Still Matters

However, Japan (#2) and the U.S. (#3) remain fixtures near the top thanks to their outsized GDPs, deep innovation pipelines and global brands.

Business friendliness weighed heavily: they’re top five for entrepreneurship, while the U.S. ranks #1 for agility and power.

Meanwhile, high investor confidence and strong currency reserves help each nation offset middling scores on cost of living and income equality.

Together they illustrate how sheer economic heft continues to sway public perception—even in an era generally more focused on sustainability and social values.

Middle East and Asia Make Inroads in Global Perceptions

The UAE (#17), Qatar (#25) and Saudi Arabia (#32) showcase the Middle East’s growing soft-power ambitions.

Targeted investment in tourism, green energy, and cultural projects burnishes their brand beyond the somewhat disparaging “petro-state” label.

Likewise, South Korea (#18), Singapore (#14) and China (#16) leverage advanced manufacturing and technological prowess to climb the ranking.

Their rise hints at a more multipolar world where Western dominance over “best country” narratives is steadily eroding.

Determining the “Best Countries” in the World

U.S. News designed its “Best Countries” ranking around 73 attributes grouped into 10 thematic subrankings, such as quality of life, power, and entrepreneurship.

To reiterate, these rankings reflect public perceptions, not hard data. To gather this, the survey is distributed globally to about 17,000 respondents, including business leaders, informed elites, and general citizens.

Each participant is shown a random subset of countries (that must meet GDP, tourism, and FDI thresholds) and asked to rate how strongly they associate those countries with each of the 73 attributes.

These individual attributes are pre-assigned to categories by researchers, and scores are normalized on a 0–100 scale. Category scores are then averaged for each country.

Finally, respondents also rank how important each category is to them. These rankings determine the weights assigned to each category.

A country’s final score is calculated by combining its weighted category scores, producing the overall rankings seen in this graphic.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World’s Richest Countries Across Three Metrics on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

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