CD single sales surge in the UK as Ed Sheeran, ABBA, Coldplay and more return to the format

officialcharts.com:

It's 1998. You've got £5 pocket money to spend in Woolworths. A couple of quid is definitely going on pick'n'mix, but you've set most of it aside to pick up the CD single with poster you've been saving up for.

While the adrenaline rush of rushing into Virgin Megastores to pick up your favourite artist's latest single on CD (complete with CD-ROM music video) can't be truly replicated today, CD singles are making a comeback of sorts.

According to Official Charts Company data, CD single sales are up 18% year-on-year, with almost 60,000 copies sold on the once-defunct format in the first nine months of 2021.

But why are artists returning to CD singles again, and is it making a difference to their chart performance? Olivia Rodrigo's CD single