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Taylor Swift’s new album comes in cassette. Who is buying those?

Technology
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  • That's the authentic experience

    The next level is getting one of those radio tuners, a discman, and explaining to your friends that you use the discman, because the car CD player is broken.

  • When Taylor Swift’s releases her new album, “Life of a Showgirl,” in October, it can be heard on the usual places, including streaming, vinyl and…cassette tape?

    The cassette tape was once one of the most common ways to listen to music, overtaking vinyl in the 1980s before being surpassed by CDs. But the physical audio format has become an artifact of a bygone era, giving way to the convenience of streaming.

    Or, that’s what many thought.

    In 2023, 436,400 cassettes were sold in the United States, according to the most recent data available from Luminate, an entertainment data firm. Although that’s a far cry from the 440 million cassettes sold in the 1980s, it’s a sharp increase from the 80,720 cassettes sold in 2015 and a notable revival for a format that had been all but written off.

    Cassettes might not be experiencing the resurgence of vinyls or even CDs, but they are making a bit of a comeback, spurred by fans wanting an intimate experience with music and nostalgia, said Charlie Kaplan, owner of online store Tapehead City.

    “People just like having something you can hold and keep, especially now when everything’s just a rented file on your phone,” Kaplan told CNN.

    “Tapes provide a different type of listening experience — not perfect, but that’s part of it. Flip it over, look at the art and listen all the way through. You connect with the music with more of your senses,” he said.

    I just bought a cassette for my favorite band, Mad Routine. I don't intend to use it, because it's a special item with a limited run, but I would if I had a spare and a cassette player.

  • Gen Z is an interesting bunch. Opting for blurry photos and bringing back JNCO jeans.

    The 90's are back.

    “Blurry photos”? Those are just photos with a shallow depth of field. That never went out of style.

  • Gen Z is an interesting bunch. Opting for blurry photos and bringing back JNCO jeans.

    The 90's are back.

    I'm a Millennial/GenZ cusper and I think its just the desire to go back to a simpler analogue lifestyle. I've also bought a few cassettes from concerts at times when I couldn't carry around a full vinyl the rest of the night

  • The next level is getting one of those radio tuners, a discman, and explaining to your friends that you use the discman, because the car CD player is broken.

    If the car has a cassette player, you can get this cassette with a 3.5 jack coming out of it, and then connect that to the discman to listen to CDs! The 90's were fun.

  • I don't subscribe to any streaming services. I have vinyls and tapes. If I want to listen to music on the go, I use my walkman with music I've recorded from vinyl or, in very rare cases, YouTube.

    My 9 year-old has a walkman too and it's the greatest thing ever. She doesn't have a smartphone, but the walkman enables her to listen to her own mixtape when we're traveling. She loves it.

    Actually, I've seen quite a few people with feature phones around lately, a walkman would be perfect for them for the same reason.

    Also, making mixtapes is still as great as it was back then. A playlist is not the same, not by a long shot. I made one for my little sister recently and it was all kinds of fun to make sure both sides were filled, that the mood and energy was cohesive, that it was tracks I genuinely believed she would enjoy but also tracks that I knew she wouldn't seek out on her own. (Fuck algorithms for recommending music — they won't challenge you or surprise you.)

    Edit: Also, releasing on cassette isn't even that new this time around. For instance, all of Mac Miller's stuff has been available on cassette for at least a few years. Like, check out HHV's listing of cassettes: https://www.hhv.de/en/records/catalog/filter/tape-D2M74N4U9 and https://imusic.dk/exposure/8138/kassettebaand has a surprising number of metal albums on cassette.

    How is it any different than making a playlist? You said a long shot, that's not true.

    I am not talking about Spotify, I never use it, but unless you are talking about the level of effort to make the tape, then what's the difference?

    Records are bulky, heavy, and horribly environmentally bad. Cassettes aren't as bad but are really inconvenient.

    I got rid of all of those years ago and I am so glad I did.

    I still have a music collection, I don't use streaming services though. And no no CDs either.

  • If the car has a cassette player, you can get this cassette with a 3.5 jack coming out of it, and then connect that to the discman to listen to CDs! The 90's were fun.

    Those worked pretty well by the end, tbh

  • I showed them all this stuff before and my kids thought it was lame. Their friends start to listen or wear said things and now it's cool... Kids lol nothing changes.

    don’t worry it’s still not cool.

  • I definitely prefer to purchase my music on CD when possible. As someone who grew up with Cassettes, it's one tech I'm fine with being pushed into history. I'd rather have Minidiscs than cassettes.

    yeah. i wonder why they aren’t binging back VHS too. because it objectively sucks compared to what we have now.

  • When Taylor Swift’s releases her new album, “Life of a Showgirl,” in October, it can be heard on the usual places, including streaming, vinyl and…cassette tape?

    The cassette tape was once one of the most common ways to listen to music, overtaking vinyl in the 1980s before being surpassed by CDs. But the physical audio format has become an artifact of a bygone era, giving way to the convenience of streaming.

    Or, that’s what many thought.

    In 2023, 436,400 cassettes were sold in the United States, according to the most recent data available from Luminate, an entertainment data firm. Although that’s a far cry from the 440 million cassettes sold in the 1980s, it’s a sharp increase from the 80,720 cassettes sold in 2015 and a notable revival for a format that had been all but written off.

    Cassettes might not be experiencing the resurgence of vinyls or even CDs, but they are making a bit of a comeback, spurred by fans wanting an intimate experience with music and nostalgia, said Charlie Kaplan, owner of online store Tapehead City.

    “People just like having something you can hold and keep, especially now when everything’s just a rented file on your phone,” Kaplan told CNN.

    “Tapes provide a different type of listening experience — not perfect, but that’s part of it. Flip it over, look at the art and listen all the way through. You connect with the music with more of your senses,” he said.

    Not Taylor Swift but my older kid is really into retro music devices. He has a Walkman, a separate tape recorder, a record player and a boom box, and buys vinyl and cassettes