What's New
BY Sarah Patterson April 17, 2024
What's New July 20, 2022
Cassette tapes make a comeback
Reporter
Move over vinyl. Cassettes are making a comeback.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Our penchant for vintage records is one thing – but cassette tapes? Those pesky little things you sometimes needed a pencil to rewind? Apparently they’re a ‘thing’ again, especially with younger generations.
With artists from Billie Eilish to Ozzy Osbourne now making their music available on the format, sales have risen sharply, with close to a quarter of a million cassette tapes sold globally this year alone.
In an article this week for global foundation Luminate, Research Director Paulina Pchelin says “Physical music has proven to have staying power, with growth persisting throughout the pandemic and beyond.”
“What’s fascinating is that these trends are actually driven by younger generations. We know from our U.S Music 360 study that Gen Z makes up one third of cassette consumers, over a quarter of vinyl consumers, and almost one fifth of CD consumers.”
She notes that cassette buyers also spend 227% more money across music categories than the average music listener.
“Music fans show fandom in a number of ways, from streaming favourite songs on repeat to blowing up social feeds and purchasing merch.”
“So when it comes to cassettes, perhaps younger consumers are drawn to the novelty and the vintage aesthetic that also serves as another badge of honour to their love of music.”
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What's New
BY Sarah Patterson April 17, 2024
I don’t think so.
Yeah, not convinced.
I got a TEAC R-888X auto-reverse cassette deck in the mid 1980’s. I still have it but it is in storage because new blank Metal cassettes are almost impossible to find and are very expensive. The only ones I cand find are normal bias and to be honest, they suck compared to the metal and CrO2 ones. Normal bias have high hiss, even with the DBX of the 888 and the highs are dull.
Een compact cassette en de bij
bijbehorende geluids kwaliteit
Is totaal niet te vergelijken met
De analoge lp , het zijn de laatste
stuiptrekkingen van een achter –
haald systeem…
TRANSLATION
A compact cassette and the bee
corresponding sound quality
Can’t compare at all with
The analog LP, it’s the last
convulsions of a past system…
Dolby no longer licences their noise reduction chips… Teac/Tascam made new decks as well as Marantz… They’re all horrible. Unless the major players come out with a decent deck like Nakamichi .. Yamaha etc… And TDK starting their ferric..cr02 and metal tapes… There is no comeback. It’s a novelty.
I belong to a generation who grew up on record and cassetres, but, honestly, Im still into tecords keep proudly my collection of over 5000 LPs, but, really, cassettes are way under benefit of cd-s, cd is more durable, takes less space, far more resistant to heat, or whirling, twisting, breaking…
Also, like some people commented – dont think so…its just a gimmick…industry and commercial pressure is the key – lets make money on something that we dont have to invent, work on cos it already exists…JUST A COMMERCIAL, MONEY STEAL TWICE THE SAME WAY, AND THE NUMBERS, STATISTICS BOUT NO OF BUYERS…WHAT A LIE
#Scott I don’t know on what planet you live on… but your remark “normal bias and to be honest, they suck compared to the metal and CrO2 ones.” Is of a true ignorant! I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but you clearly know little or nothing about compact cassette. I own several TOP decks, not to mention, your Teac deck is a pretty fine deck, and when one has a half decent deck, whatever cassette you use, is bound to make a more than good recording… with or without Dolby “B” “C” or “DBX”… Cheers.