Many popular artists like Justin Bieber, The Weekend, Halsey and Twenty One Pilots put out their albums on cassette tapes that can be bought either online via Amazon or at the closest Urban Outfitters.
Cassettes were introduced in Europe in the 1960s by the electric company Phillips. They became a popular alternative to the vinyl records many people had in their homes already. The quality is not as high tech compared to what we have available to us now, but according to Forbes, the National Audio Company experienced heightened cassette sales throughout 2014 by an increase of 31 percent.
Freshman Jon Smith has been listening to cassettes for a little under a month and appreciates how simple and vintage the experience is.
“I used to use Spotify to listen to all my music, but I think this way is just a lot cooler and cheaper,” Smith said. “It also keeps me ‘disconnected’ because when I was on Spotify I would often be on the internet and social media at the same time.”
The main reason cassette tapes went out of style is because iPod’s and other portable music devices were invented. The fall of cassettes happened in the 90’s when people began favoring mp3 files found by The Atlantic.
“I never really thought about using this technology before, but I watched the Netflix series ‘13 Reasons Why’ and it got me interested,” Smith said. “The one downside is that eventually these tapes will be run down and sound slower and distorted.”
People can find tapes at Goodwill or other thrift for less than a dollar each. For more information on the cassette revival trend click here
