Charting the mytunes revolution

It's taken decades of technology breakthroughs to get from 8-tracks to iPods. Digital downloads still represent just a fraction of total music sales, but CD sales have slid steadily since their introduction. Fortune looks at how the way we listen to music has changed over the years.

1996 total sales: $16,109.1 million
1996 total sales: $16,109.1 million
Bestseller: Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
LPsLPs$108.3 million
8-TRACK TAPES8-TRACK TAPESN/A
CASSETTE TAPESCASSETTE TAPES$2,692.1 million
COMPACT DISCSCOMPACT DISCS$13,005.2 million
MP3 DOWNLOADSMP3 DOWNLOADSN/A
Sources: RIAA, Billboard. All figures in 2007 dollars.
Sales for LPs, cassettes, and CDs include singles
Some music formats are omitted

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006
Bend it like Corning About the only thing optical fiber can't do is turn corners. Until now. Fortune takes a look at the latest breakthrough in glass. (more)
24 top innovators These 24 disrupters have gone up against the odds as they've rattled old industries and tried to create new ones. (more)

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.