Shocking News of Huge Cassette Sale Resurgence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovAG4C5g6fw

Cassette: the documentary mentioned in this video is available here

https://www.cassettefilm.com/#home

Yep, It just confirms that people still want to own physical music. Even the youngsters apparently.

What the documentary didn’t mention was how much 2nd hand stuff is being bought or traded.

Not to be a downer (as always), but I'm done buying used studio-recorded tapes. EVERY SINGLE ONE that I held onto from the 80s/90s, or bought recently from a record store or someone else's collection, had poor quality sound. Either because the original tape was low-quality, or because it had degraded over time due to environmental exposure. People leaving them in their car for months/years, etc.

Reli said:

Not to be a downer (as always), but I'm done buying used studio-recorded tapes. EVERY SINGLE ONE that I held onto from the 80s/90s, or bought recently from a record store or someone else's collection, had poor quality sound. Either because the original tape was low-quality, or because it had degraded over time due to environmental exposure. People leaving them in their car for months/years, etc.

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I have been buying brand new cassettes from TapeHead City. Ton's of new bands available, re-issued classics and factory sealed originals. I haven't had any issues with sound quality. I have also bought used cassettes from them that looked and sounded brand new. Recently got a factory sealed Parliament cassette

Maybe TapeHead City tests used tapes before putting them up for sale?

It looks like the world is starting to realize that all this "perfect" modern tech is missing something.....A soul.

Yeah this new digital era has its perks but nothing to grab, collect or hold. Just an emptiness of digital data flowing through a circuit.

People are starting to miss the human touch where music was entertaining. Not only by listening to it, but by watching the format being played. Just like the old jukeboxes. Part of the fun was watching the insides and seeing the machine playing the format with a mirage of lights and mechanical movements.

It's a lifeless, gutless and soulless feeling watching an SD card or MP3 being played on a chip.

Physical is niche though, as niche as toenail clippings collecting.

The Album is dead, streaming won.

Last weeks US #1 Album was Hoodie SZN by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (Just to be clear I've never heard this and judging by the name I don't care to).

But how many sales does it take to hit number 1 in the USA these days? 50,000? 100,000? Nope....823. Yep, that's how many was sold.

0 Physical copies. <--that's Zero, None, Zip, Zilch.

823 Paid Downloads

83 Million streams.

Go on, try and fight that tidal wave.

Physical is niche, which is why there are no more record stores.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/arts/music/a-boogie-wit-da-hoodie-billboard-chart.html

Looking at those stats I guess its hard to argue with that. All I can say is, thank goodness I lived in a time where things were more interesting. I will say this. One thing I don't miss is having to buy a whole album with crappy songs just to have the one song you wanted. If I do stream, it's to capture the song and transfer it over from digital to analog. That's free

Speaking for myself, I have the slowest internet speeds in America. I would rather watch my reel to reel, cassette or turntable spin than the buffering wheel on my media player.

Sadly though, the new generation has very few that know anything other than what current day technology offers. I grew up in a time where you could impress someone with the latest gadget. Nowadays you can't impress a single millennial nor can they impress themselves or feel accomplished in any thing they do. It's like the life has been sucked out of them. I can't speak for all of them but this is what I have noticed today in a world where everything is instantly available with a push of a button.

Edit: My last sentence above "I can't speak for all of them" means that not all are this way. Some are very talented and intelligent. Wanted to clarify this detail for the easily offended. Since details are sometimes overlooked & not known, I am one of the younger ones on here and I enjoy vintage formats. So with that...

Yeah, I know. I'm old school. That's why I'm here

I fix computer network systems so I'm up with technology....and when I get home I try to stay as far away from it as I can unless it's on here chatting with you fine fellows. My bandwidth will support that..

Terry said:

Physical is niche though, as niche as toenail clippings collecting.

The Album is dead, streaming won.

Last weeks US #1 Album was Hoodie SZN by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (Just to be clear I've never heard this and judging by the name I don't care to).

But how many sales does it take to hit number 1 in the USA these days? 50,000? 100,000? Nope....823. Yep, that's how many was sold.

0 Physical copies. <--that's Zero, None, Zip, Zilch.

823 Paid Downloads

83 Million streams.

Go on, try and fight that tidal wave.

Physical is niche, which is why there are no more record stores.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/arts/music/a-boogie-wit-da-hoodie-billboard-chart.html

Click to expand...

Transistorized said:

........Sadly though, the new generation has very few that know anything other than what current day technology offers. I grew up in a time where you could impress someone with the latest gadget. Nowadays you can't impress a single millennial nor can they impress themselves or feel accomplished in any thing they do. It's like the life has been sucked out of them. I can't speak for all of them but this is what I have noticed today in a world where everything is instantly available with a push of a button.

Yeah, I know. I'm old school. That's why I'm here

Click to expand...

I'm quite happily marooned on Retro Land, I've never streamed a single thing in all my life as I prefer the touchy feely world of tangible items and not a temporary, streamed digital fix. The other benefit, of course, is that I don't need an internet connection to listen music, read a book or watch a movie.

Today's generation and, arguably, future generations have a lot less to show after spending their hard earned money and may wonder why they have little by way of savings and fewer possessions or assets late in life:
Don't buy a car...................Lease/rent a car.
Stream your entertainment, don't buy.
Rent your house instead of getting a mortgage.
Download an ebook, no hard copy needed!
And so it goes on. I can't imagine being my age now and realising all my worldly goods could fit into a couple of (hired?!) suitcases!

Outrageous isn't it?

Reli said:

Maybe TapeHead City tests used tapes before putting them up for sale?

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Correct, they test all used cassettes. I have bought maybe 20 used cassette's and 5-6 new ones from them. Every one of them has been perfect. 0 issues.

Transistorized said:

It looks like the world is starting to realize that all this "perfect" modern tech is missing something.....A soul.

Yeah this new digital era has its perks but nothing to grab, collect or hold. Just an emptiness of digital data flowing through a circuit.

People are starting to miss the human touch where music was entertaining. Not only by listening to it, but by watching the format being played. Just like the old jukeboxes. Part of the fun was watching the insides and seeing the machine playing the format with a mirage of lights and mechanical movements.

It's a lifeless, gutless and soulless feeling watching an SD card or MP3 being played on a chip.

Click to expand...

My wife and I have had parties in the Boom Room where we have tore it up, all guns (radios ) blazin' streaming off an MP3 collection and other times, we just used the turn table and two speakers. People do in deed enjoy going through the record collection to find what they want to hear and listen to full albums.

MyOhMy said:

I'm quite happily marooned on Retro Land, I've never streamed a single thing in all my life as I prefer the touchy feely world of tangible items and not a temporary, streamed digital fix. The other benefit, of course, is that I don't need an internet connection to listen music, read a book or watch a movie.

Today's generation and, arguably, future generations have a lot less to show after spending their hard earned money and may wonder why they have little by way of savings and fewer possessions or assets late in life:
Don't buy a car...................Lease/rent a car.
Stream your entertainment, don't buy.
Rent your house instead of getting a mortgage.
Download an ebook, no hard copy needed!
And so it goes on. I can't imagine being my age now and realising all my worldly goods could fit into a couple of (hired?!) suitcases!

Click to expand...

I think their is going to be a sad, empty, hollow future for the kids of today. I think it is very natural for human beings to get to a certain age and then look back at where they are from and seek out that old car or toy they used to own. They won;t have that since everything is now housed in some corporations cloud.

Terry said:

Outrageous isn't it?

P1150275.JPG

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Terry said:

Physical is niche though, as niche as toenail clippings collecting.

The Album is dead, streaming won.

Last weeks US #1 Album was Hoodie SZN by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (Just to be clear I've never heard this and judging by the name I don't care to).

But how many sales does it take to hit number 1 in the USA these days? 50,000? 100,000? Nope....823. Yep, that's how many was sold.

0 Physical copies. <--that's Zero, None, Zip, Zilch.

823 Paid Downloads

83 Million streams.

Go on, try and fight that tidal wave.

Physical is niche, which is why there are no more record stores.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/arts/music/a-boogie-wit-da-hoodie-billboard-chart.html

Click to expand...

All True, All True. The physical format will never rule again, but with 7 billion music consumers on the planet, even a few million turn table / cassette deck heads add up.

i was told tesco is selling lp's again at £25 a pop, don't know if that is true though

Rimmer36 said:

i was told tesco is selling lp's again at £25 a pop, don't know if that is true though

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I feel sure that the fact of new LP's being released has been mentioned before on the forum and I've also read of this. The thing that I remember most when I first came across this a few short years ago was that some of the new vinyl pressings were being made from digital 'originals' which concerned me - especially when I saw a 're-released' Bill Haley LP pressed from an 'original digital recording'!

MyOhMy said:

i was told tesco is selling lp's again at £25 a pop, don't know if that is true though

Click to expand...

I feel sure that the fact of new LP's being released has been mentioned before on the forum and I've also read of this. The thing that I remember most when I first came across this a few short years ago was that some of the new vinyl pressings were being made from digital 'originals' which concerned me - especially when I saw a 're-released' Bill Haley LP pressed from an 'original digital recording'!

Click to expand...

probably just mp3's pressed to Lp lol

You all have brought up great topics, and shared your thoughts and I completely agree! I am very proud and happy I am a Go Getter Gen X'er! 1966 model here. We are crunched between the huge population "bell curve" Baby Boomers, and the ungrateful ( mostly), spoiled, coddled, pampered ,entitled Millenials and New Gen Z coming up. I nipped the 60s and experienced 3 years of that decade, was blessed in growing up the best decade ( for me) and became a 13 year old in 1979, and really embraced and experienced the happiest decade after the 70s....the 80s! The 90s were ok, but saw and felt the downward spiral with music, and consumer electronics in the 90s. I don't count Y2K and beyond to now. It's so blah blah blah, boring and homogenized with waves of the cooler decades hitting us from the 50s thru the 80s. Commercials, retro tv shows being shown on retro channels, movies that are remade, songs that are remade and sampled, etc, etc.
I am truly happy to be where I am at, and proud to be a Gen X'er! These boomers we love hit the paramount during my teens, so it was the perfect stars and moon and sun alignment!

Rimmer36 said:

i was told tesco is selling lp's again at £25 a pop, don't know if that is true though

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Saw this LP stand in one of Oxford's Sainsbury's recently -16-25 quid.

that is wicked Alex lad

Rimmer36 said:

that is wicked Alex lad

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To saw them not far from a row with toilet paper? Yep, it was kinda funny, Rah-Rah mate..
I haven't used to that from the past, used to see LPs in the record stores mostly not in supermarkets.
Here, including a voucher for free MP3 download of this album.

Dunno why the engine rotates these 2 pics.

you know i love bob the weed bro, that is what my friend calls him lol

Rimmer36 said:

I feel sure that the fact of new LP's being released has been mentioned before on the forum and I've also read of this. The thing that I remember most when I first came across this a few short years ago was that some of the new vinyl pressings were being made from digital 'originals' which concerned me - especially when I saw a 're-released' Bill Haley LP pressed from an 'original digital recording'!

Click to expand...

probably just mp3's pressed to Lp lol

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Yes, this is bothersome. But I'm not a fan of the whole REMASTERING thing. Original mixes of tapes, LP's and even CD's are highly sought after.

Simply taking a compressed to MP3 track and putting it on vinyl doesn't do it for me.