Contemporary media is built around streaming and subscriptions, but there is a small, noticeable backlash that treats physical stuff—DVDs, CDs, vinyl, even print books—as a kind of analog flex. Physical music sales are on track for their first overall increase in about twenty years, with vinyl still growing and CD declines slowing enough to nudge total album units up a few percent.
Writers covering the trend point out that collectors, superfans and a lot of Gen Z buyers are driving that change, not because streaming vanished, but because they want at least some albums and films to exist outside an app.
On TikTok, that shift shows up as an aesthetic as much as a shopping habit. Creators post “physical media haul” videos and Christmas hauls built around stacks of DVDs, CDs and hardbacks, turning shelves into set design for their For You page. In those clips—and in essays and videos about the “quiet rebellion” against streaming—people talk about disappearing titles, subscription fatigue and the satisfaction of choosing one disc instead of scrolling forever, which makes owning a movie or album feel less like tech nostalgia and more like a small way of taking control back from the feed.
Mainstream coverage is starting to treat this as more than a quirky nostalgia kick. A Washington Post piece, DVDs and CDs are becoming cool again, thanks mostly to Gen Z, argues that younger listeners are driving a small revival in disc sales because they like the mix of vintage aesthetics, lower prices, and the security of owning copies that will not suddenly vanish from a platform.