In the music world, vinyl records are getting a lot of attention when it comes to physical media. Sales of vinyl records have been on the rise for years, and now cassette tapes are starting to see the same.
The resurgence of vinyl is so strong that it is no longer even a "trend." In 2021, people spent more on vinyl than CDs for the first time since 1986. On the other hand, sales of cassette tapes have been low for a long time. However, in the past five years, things are changing.
A brief history of cassette tapes
Cassette tapes were introduced by Philips in 1963. The first cassette could hold 45 minutes of music on each side, which was much more than vinyl. But perhaps the biggest advantage of cassette tapes is their compact size.
The size of the cassette led to the birth of portable music players, which became very popular. Cars also included cassette players, meaning people could listen to anything other than radio. Tapes are also more affordable than vinyl.
Another important reason for the popularity of tape was the birth of blank tapes and all-round mixtapes. Cassette recorders allowed people to make their own custom tapes, which also introduced the concept of piracy to the music industry. Today, the concept of mixtapes plays an important role in the way we consume music.
A few years after the introduction of cassette tapes, 8-Tracks appeared. They can play more music than cassette tapes and still be compact. However, cassette tapes are still more popular in the long run. It wasn't until the CD appeared - it was better in all respects - that the cassette tape was overthrown.
Cassette tapes are making a comeback
From 1984 to around 1991, cassette tapes were the dominant form of music sales. Since then, CDs and streaming have dominated the industry. Vinyl overtook CDs in 2021, but still pales in comparison to the dominance of music streaming.
At the same time, sales of cassette tapes have been slowly growing. According to Neilsen Music, cassette sales in the U.S. grew 35 percent in 2017 and another 23 percent in 2018. In the UK, cassettes sales increased by 112% year-on-year in the first half of 2019. Recently, sales doubled from 2020 to 2021.
Now, these statistics may sound impressive, but the actual number of tapes sold is still low. The 23% increase in U.S. sales in 2018 was just 219,000 tapes. That same year, 18 million CDs and 16 million vinyl records were sold. 343,000 cassette tapes sold in 2021 and 215,000 in the first half of 2022.
Clearly there is a trend going on, but we are still in the early stages. Some big-name artists have already started releasing box albums, such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. However, this is not a common practice. Start collecting cassettes, especially new music, in 2023.
Why tape?
We've talked a lot about the history of tapes and their slow rise, but why exactly? For decades, cassette tapes were almost non-existent. As it turns out, it's similar to the story of how cassette tapes passed through vinyl back then.
There are many reasons why people love cassette tapes and why people like vinyl. The cassette is an entire album arranged from beginning to end. You can't skip songs easily, and there is no "shuffle" button. This is often how an artist wants to experience music.
Cassette tapes feature album artwork inserted and sometimes extra notes and goodies inside. It's not just 300×300 JPEGs for album covers. What you're buying is a complete experience – from the way you listen to it to how it looks and feels.
In general, it's all about nostalgia. Cassette tapes don't sound as good as other music playback methods. But just like vinyl records, music in cassette tapes has a unique sound.