If the vinyl rampage of recent times has proved anything, it’s that an enthusiast’s love for a bygone format is still a thing which holds authenticity, power and endless dedication. It’s a feeling that can be carried over quite easily to cassettes, which, as tough as it may seem to swallow, are also seeing a comeback.
We’ve reported on this before, but a recent Sydney Morning Herald article has further cemented this feeling. Despite the frequency with which they love to splay out like spaghetti on a toddler’s bib, the fact is that cassettes still have a few draw cards of their own when compared to other formats.
What is driving the resurgence of cassette tapes for new bands? Whether or not you love the bite-sized format, there’s a pull to the little boxes which is hard to resist.
The two mainstays of the cassette argument are affordability and portability. While a modern, newly released vinyl can cost you up to $50, cassettes often sell for as little as $10. Compound this with the high cost of pressing wax versus the financial ease of making cassettes and you’ll see why underground artists are jumping on the tapes more and more.
Additionally, they fit in your pocket. In an age where we’ve become obsessed with making everything smaller from computers to cars to turntables, it makes a lot of sense that people will often opt for the easier to manage format, physically.
Jump over to the SMH article for the extra lowdown, including interviews with a few local record store owners. And watch this space; while cassettes don’t currently stand against the newfound might of vinyl, these little baby tapes are showing some promise for the first time since your parents were making their own mixtapes, gingerly holding a cassette player up next to their radio.
