The increase in production quantities of CD titles in Japan over the years is proof of the speed with which this technology caught on. At the end of 1984, when the D-50 was launched, the number of CDs produced was a mere one-tenth the number of LPs. By 1986, CD production rose to 45 million per year, far outstripping LP production.
The CD became the principal audio medium just four years after its introduction. By 1988, 100 million CDs were being produced annually, matching the quantity for LPs at their peak. By 1992, CD production tripled to 300 million a year.
An increase in Sony's CD software production capacity was an additional factor contributing to the rapid spread of CDs. In addition to the CBS/Sony CD software plant in Japan, Sony in the late 1980s, maintained a plant in Indiana, and one near Salzburg, Austria. These three factories represented a collective annual production capacity of 120 million CDs. In April 1987, a CD player plant was established in Alsace, France, enabling Sony to become one of the first makers to provide both CD hardware and software worldwide.
When Nakajima's team first began developing the CD, they had projected that CDs would overtake LPs by 1989 and reach a peak production volume of twice that of the LP. This projection had even been pushed forward two to three years to impress on Sony's management the promising future of CDs. A common Japanese proverb says that,  It takes ten years for things to change. Nakajima and his team expected it to take this long for the CD to replace the LP. It was a wonderful miscalculation. The music industry was given a new life thanks to the CD. Nakajima was overjoyed. He could only say, Thank God we developed digital technology.
The CD business eventually expanded beyond CD players and discs. Sony began to sell key devices, including the LSI circuit and the optical pickup, to CD hardware manufacturers around the world. Since the introduction of the D-50, demand for these devices surged from other audio equipment manufacturers. Sony's ability to meet all of their requests helped to boost the CD business worldwide. Ohga put forth a business strategy to turn a profit on everything related to the CD. His target was to reach a 50% market share of the global CD player market. At one point, Sony even achieved a 70% share.
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