Brothers In Arms was one of the two most important rock albums of the 1980s in terms of the transition from vinyl to CD. The other one was Thriller. CD players were bought for these albums in 1985 and 1986.

Brothers In Arms became the first album to sell more than one million copies on CD worldwide and the first to sell more copies on CD than on vinyl. It sold over thirty million copies globally by the end of the decade. It held the number one spot in the UK charts for fourteen weeks and nine weeks in the US. Vertigo and Philips jointly financed a tour spanning 248 shows in 177 cities, with the CD format as the main visual element of the tour. For promotion, the world's first single in CD format was released in 1985 (Vertigo 884 285-2, pressed in West Germany by Polygram), containing a long version of the title track and excerpts from the album.