Just as the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary thought they could remove the word “cassette tape” from the dictionary the outdated technology might be coming back. The over twenty-year-old technology is seeing a slight comeback as indie music companies are using it to get their music out quickly and inexpensively according to Rob Mason, the owner of Old Flame Records. The Brooklyn-based record company released the band Total Babes' album "Swimming Through Sunlight" on tape before the full-length album was released Aug. 30 on CD and vinyl. "From a music maker standpoint, I love it because they are very inexpensive to make," Mason said. "I can make 100 for not a very large investment. Especially compared to making vinyl — it's like a tenth of the cost."
As vinyl made records began to decline in the early 80’s, cassettes began to take over. The peak for cassettes was in 1990 when 442 million were sold. But cassettes were killed off and began the peak of the CD in 2000 before the digital revolution.
As of mid-August, music-related cassette album sales are up 46% from last year at 22,000 units sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Last year, they said, cassette album sales were at about 15,000.
By Ryan Bockmier
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