The Cassette Tape Comeback

If you still have a box of cassette tapes laying around somewhere, it could be a box full of cash!

Cassette tapes are making a comeback! Billboard said that between 2015 and 2022 cassette tapes had a 443% increase in sales in the U.S. And, it seems the demand is still growing.

But why?

Any music listener will tell you that a song doesn’t sound as good on a cassette as it does on an album or CD or a digital streaming service. Tapes can degrade over time, they can break, you have to rewind them, and at this point, you’d probably have to buy something to play them on!

So again, what’s fueling the new demand for cassette tapes?

Most experts agree it’s probably about three things: nostalgia, the physical act of ownership, and it’s the vibe of it all!

Let us explain. Nostalgia is the easy explanation, and the one closest to our hearts here at Throwback Nation Radio! We spent hours listening to the radio, our finger hovering over “record” on our boom boxes, hoping to catch our favorite songs to listen to whenever we wanted. We made mix tapes, the old version of a playlist, for road trips, new relationships, or a night out. We took $5 into a Sam Goody to buy the latest ‘single’ from our favorite artist. Cassette tapes are a reminder of easier, simpler times.

The physical act of ownership goes a little deeper. With so many of us listening today to music on the radio or on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, the opportunity to actually own your favorite song is appealing. Having a tangible piece of an artist’s music in your hand is a rare delight these days – and one that today’s youth just simply missed out on.

And third, it’s a vibe. It’s kind of like people who thrift their clothes, or shop for furniture they can sand, paint, recover and turn it into something new. There’s a certain coolness about it – the hunt, the find, the thrill of collecting, the boasting about owning Nirvana on cassette. As my kids would say, it’s a total aesthetic!

So, where do you find cassette tapes nowadays? We searched on eBay.com and found lots of listings for single tapes, batches of tapes, cassette players, boom boxes, Walkmans, and more! Several cities are also now hosting swap meets or cassette tape fairs, as CBS Saturday Morning discovered. Check it out!