Cassettes Are Back, and Booming (fastcompany.com)

It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by sjbe · 2017-01-12 06:45 · Score: 5, Insightful

The antiquated format is being embraced by everyone from indie musicians to Eminem and Justin Bieber. Fast Company's John Paul Titlow took a look at tape's unexpected revival, and why it's not solely about retro hipsterism.

There is no reason to use tape aside from "retro hipsterism". (isn't that redundant?) Tape sucks on SO many levels. Anyone who thinks it doesn't isn't old enough to have had to live with tapes. I can see it being kind of novel to someone once or twice but the charm will wear off fast. Seriously, tape has some use cases but playing music shouldn't be one of them. We used it back in the day because there wasn't anything better available.

Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by Anonymous Coward · 2017-01-12 06:57 · Score: 5, Interesting

Sorry, it's not a complete explanation.
I'm an indy musician.
I don't have a lot of cash, and I don't have a lot of sales.
Unit for unit, on small runs, cassette tape is WAY cheaper than any other medium.
Cassette audio fidelity (or lack thereof) is a fine match for my typical output.
And for people who want digital fidelity, I include a slip of paper with a download code.
But yes, from a marketing and artistic standpoint, having a physical product on offer for those who want it is important, and no, streaming and digital downloads alone don't satisfy that need.
Yes, I was around for cassettes the first time. I was around before CDs. I know all the arguments, and have lived through them. Your casual dismissal is just incorrect.
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by ChronoReverse · 2017-01-12 06:59 · Score: 4, Insightful

Doesn't a CD-R cost like 50 cents? Is recording a cassette really cheaper than burning a CD?
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by ZorinLynx · 2017-01-12 07:04 · Score: 5, Insightful

Oh gods this is so true.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s and cassettes were my main music format at the time.
The hiss. The tape becoming damaged now and then resulting in parts of your songs being screwed up. The poor speed regulation on many tape decks. The felt pad under the tape becoming damaged or falling out and having to replace it, hoping not to damage the tape in the process. The tape getting "eaten" by the deck. The fact that almost all prerecorded tapes were made with the lowest quality tape possible (low bias, non-metal), so you didn't even get the best quality tape could provided from your music purchases.
Heck, the technology itself was a hack. Cassettes were originally meant for low fidelity voice dictation.
Cassettes have literally NOTHING to offer except the nostalgia. If you want a physical copy of your music, CDs are the way to go. If you want to be retro-hipster, vinyl is far better in audio quality and durability. Tapes are a clusterfuck and I remember RELISHING the day I got a CD player and didn't have to deal with them for my new music purchases.
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by dejitaru · 2017-01-12 07:06 · Score: 5, Insightful

Technically yes if you are recording live to a cassette, because you just need a tape deck and a microphone. With CDs, you still need a computer, software to record the audio, etc.

Now with that being said, he said he also includes a "download code", hence he recorded it to a computer and uploaded, so I have no idea why he would go the tape route unless he wanted to appear retro-cool
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by Anonymous Coward · 2017-01-12 07:10 · Score: 4, Funny

so my 60 year old dad, who tapes shit from spotify directly to tape so he can listen in his car, is a hipster, i got to tell you, i always knew those suspenders he uses are kinda weird
now it all makes sense
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by hawguy · 2017-01-12 07:11 · Score: 4, Informative

Sorry, it's not a complete explanation.
I'm an indy musician.
I don't have a lot of cash, and I don't have a lot of sales.
Unit for unit, on small runs, cassette tape is WAY cheaper than any other medium.
Cassette audio fidelity (or lack thereof) is a fine match for my typical output.
And for people who want digital fidelity, I include a slip of paper with a download code.
But yes, from a marketing and artistic standpoint, having a physical product on offer for those who want it is important, and no, streaming and digital downloads alone don't satisfy that need.
Yes, I was around for cassettes the first time. I was around before CDs. I know all the arguments, and have lived through them. Your casual dismissal is just incorrect.
You can get 100 CD's (printed disks in jewel case) for $139 does anyone do small cassette runs for less than $1.39/piece?
Blank CD-R's are 10 - 20 cents a piece in bulk if you have a very small run and want to record your own.
And more importantly, how do you find fans that still own cassette players? I don't even own a CD player anymore, all my disks get copied digitally, then they get packed away in a big CD wallet, never to be seen again. The last time I bought music from a small indie band, they emailed me a link where I could download it.
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by amicusNYCL · 2017-01-12 07:27 · Score: 5, Insightful

"It's nice to only be able to listen to what's in front of you, instead of having the entirety of music at your fingertips with Spotify and all that"
Right, and when I go to lunch I prefer to go to the convenience store where I only have the pre-made sandwiches in the cooler to choose from. That's also "nice". When I can pick from anything I want I just get confused. I prefer it when my choices are today's ham and swiss or yesterday's ham and swiss. Sometimes I pick yesterday's ham and swiss because I appreciate the retro taste of it, I like that the bread just feels warm and fuzzy (where it isn't soggy). I also avoid online dating, when I want a date I go to the closest cheap bar and think it's nice that I'm only able to pick from the selection of women at the bar, I appreciate their retro ages. Sometimes I pick the one without a disease, but I always appreciate a retro penicillin shot.

--
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by MightyYar · 2017-01-12 07:39 · Score: 5, Funny

You are worried that people might not be able to play a CD-RW, but you seem unconcerned that people need a find a working tape deck?

--
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by phantomfive · 2017-01-12 07:46 · Score: 4, Funny

Cassettes are reusable
No, I break the tabs out of mine. Protected fully by the DMCA.

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by MightyYar · 2017-01-12 07:50 · Score: 5, Funny

3M makes a variety of copyright circumvention adhesive tapes.

--
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by phantomfive · 2017-01-12 07:59 · Score: 4, Funny

Is there a tutorial available?

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by PopeRatzo · 2017-01-12 08:25 · Score: 4, Informative

Technically yes if you are recording live to a cassette, because you just need a tape deck and a microphone. With CDs, you still need a computer, software to record the audio, etc.
Oh man. Buy a cheap USB interface for your computer. Get a copy (free, full version, not limited in any way) of Cockos Reaper. You'll never look back. For $50, you can get something that has a decent mic preamp and you'll be able to multitrack like Sgt Pepper.
Go to Guitar Center when they have a sale or look on Amazon. Then, you get a free account at Soundcloud and you'll be able to distribute your music without having to use any physical media at all.

--
You are welcome on my lawn.
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by chispito · 2017-01-12 08:36 · Score: 4, Insightful

I don't have a lot of cash, and I don't have a lot of sales.
Unit for unit, on small runs, cassette tape is WAY cheaper than any other medium.
Perhaps you'd make more money if your fans didn't need to own a cassette player.

--
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
Re: It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by stabiesoft · 2017-01-12 09:03 · Score: 4, Informative

This. Many years ago I took a relatively high end 3 head cassette deck (around 500 bucks which was a fortune back in the 70's) and hooked it up to a spectrum analyzer to get distortion and response curves. Lets just say anything above about 8KHz was a disaster. Yes relatively flat if you kept the levels at about -30db, but then the noise floor was right below. At reasonable input levels of -10 or -5 db, it was anything but flat. Wow and flutter was not good either. There was a reason why pro's used reel to reel for master tapes.
Re:It IS hipsterism (if that's a word) by tsotha · 2017-01-12 09:40 · Score: 5, Funny

Yeah, it makes no sense. But he's a musician, not an accountant.

Re:No, they are not by DarkOx · 2017-01-12 06:55 · Score: 4, Insightful

I am glad I do not hear that VHS tapes provide a more reliable image and have a soul

Don't worry I am sure you will soon.

--
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html

Fake news? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-01-12 06:56 · Score: 5, Funny

Is this what they mean by fake news?

Re:In this economy? by ShanghaiBill · 2017-01-12 06:57 · Score: 5, Insightful

Who has disposable income?

You can buy a used cassette player at a garage sale for like 25 cents. The seller will throw in a pile of cassettes for free. Those of us old enough to remember the 1970s look at cassettes as garbage to be disposed of. There is no rational reason to use them, and the only reasons listed in TFA are BS like being "tangible", as if having physical clutter in your life is a good thing. Also, stupid metrics like "up 140%" are meaningless without giving the base number, which TFA doesn't.

140% by Jfetjunky · 2017-01-12 06:57 · Score: 4, Insightful

So yearly sales went from 10 per year to 24 per year?

Haha, I kid, I kid.

I suppose it was Guardian of the Galaxy that .... by lkroll4565 · 2017-01-12 06:59 · Score: 5, Insightful

.....started this craze. lol :)

Perspective from someone who buys cassettes... by ScottMitting · 2017-01-12 07:16 · Score: 4, Interesting

I've been buying cassettes from local artists for some time now, simply because I like the form factor of the case better. They are a nice shape and stack nicer than the pile of CDs I also have. Most of the CDs remain unwrapped, just like the tapes remain unplayed. I buy these, obviously to support the artists, but as reminders to go online and play their free streams. That's how I actually listen to the music. The physical product (for me) is about artwork and reminders.

Re:Analogue revival by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · 2017-01-12 07:18 · Score: 4, Insightful

I have heard some of the non audiophile arguments for vinyl being popular, usually it is a collector piece with added inserts, special add-ons and larger better cover art. For photos some people just like film and film photography is something that people do because it is film, just like people still paint scenery even though photography does a better job of capturing it accurately. It is now basically art and carries its own unique characteristics that digital doesn't have it will likely be able to keep on like that forever. I still don't see a reason for there to be an uptick in cassette tape as there was nothing redeeming about it when it was new other than it was portable.

--
Time to offend someone

Actual Numbers by tranZent · 2017-01-12 07:19 · Score: 5, Informative

From the actual report

There were 11,489 cassettes purchased during the Holiday Season (an increase of 140% over 2015).

Re:In this economy? by drkoemans · 2017-01-12 07:20 · Score: 5, Interesting

Clearly you haven't been paying attention. If you find a cassette deck for $.25 I strongly suggest you pick it up and throw it on ebay. My broken tape deck is selling in the neighborhood for $100 on ebay currently. I tried to buy an old 4 track recorder to salvage some band recordings I made in my teen years and I couldn't justify the expense at the current rate. They are selling for as much used as I paid for them new 25 years ago. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html...

Re:In this economy? by pr0fessor · 2017-01-12 07:42 · Score: 4, Informative

I do a lot of work with indie bands anything from musical arrangements to graphic art I don't know any that are selling cassettes. They like to go with CDs because they are cheaper and ship faster, digital download cards are really popular too.

Re:In this economy? by Immerman · 2017-01-12 07:52 · Score: 4, Informative

>They are selling for as much used as I paid for them new 25 years ago.

So, considerably less than half-price in inflation adjusted dollars? That sounds reasonable for used products in good working condition.

--
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.

Re:In this economy? by cayenne8 · 2017-01-12 08:01 · Score: 4, Informative

I still have my old Nakamichi cassette deck. If I recall, it needed to maybe have the heads adjusted a bit.

But, back then, you didn't BUY pre-recorded cassettes...those just sucked.

To get the best quality out of them back in the day, you recorded your vinyl album onto them....I used to get the Maxell high bias tapes...can't remember the exact model, but those sure sounded good for the day.

Now.....if they brought back Reel-To-Reel tape and tape decks again, I might be interested in that.

I never got one back in the day, but I sure wanted one...

--
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........

Re:In this economy? by drkoemans · 2017-01-12 08:16 · Score: 5, Insightful

For a machine that will likely have had no maintenance and many consumable parts? If you don't mind paying half price adjusted for inflation for a used machine I've got 2000 Toyota Camry for sale right right now. Adjusted for inflation from what I paid new 2000 ($24,000) at half price (adjusted) that comes to $16,000. Current blue book is about $3000. I've probably got a washer/dryer set in a similar vintage I'm willing to make that same sweetheart deal on.

The internet is full of comments like yours so I'll pretend to take you seriously for a second. I think the reason the price is so high right now (whereas they were pennies on the dollar a few years ago) is obviously the market is hot but more importantly there is a scarcity problem. My very high end Sony ES apparently died without me realizing it despite being kept in a production setting, though never used. So many of the rubber and plastic parts have degraded on these machines in 20 or more years that many of them didn't make it into the new century. That of course and many probably went into the dust bin long ago.

Re:In this economy? by Anonymous Coward · 2017-01-12 08:18 · Score: 5, Insightful

Even if you want your music to pass through a "make it sound like shit" filter that is an analog cassette player, you should just run it through once and record the output onto your computer. (Bonus points if you just hold your phone up and use Voice Memo recording for extra shit sound.)

Then you can play it on your digital music player or phone without worrying about skips, while enjoying your godawful tastes in music.

Re:In this economy? by Grishnakh · 2017-01-12 09:10 · Score: 4, Insightful

I disagree about the physical clutter bit; I actually like having the real CDs for my music. I buy stuff on CD, then rip it to Ogg to be used on my various devices. However, there's some giant differences from cassettes:

1) CDs actually have excellent sound quality, better even than the MP3 digital downloads sold at places like Amazon.
2) CDs don't degrade when you play them.
3) CDs come with booklets that frequently have the lyrics, artwork, etc. Of course, cassettes do too, but theirs suck because the format is different. CD booklets are a nice format that's about 1/4 the size of an old LP booklet, and has a nice square aspect ratio. Cassette inserts have a terrible aspect ratio and (at least back in the 80s/90s when I used to see stuff sold both ways and was able to compare) is usually missing a lot of stuff compared to the CD version.

But you're absolutely right that there's no rational reason to use cassettes. There's absolutely nothing better about them compared to other formats. They're awful; the size is terrible, the sound quality is terrible (it was terrible even when they were current; I remember well the tape hiss problem), they wear out, you can't skip tracks, you have to rewind them, etc. This truly is a case of simple retro hipsterism, nothing more.

Re:In this economy? by Migraineman · 2017-01-12 09:53 · Score: 5, Informative

Well...let's see an uncompressed, unfiltered, band-unlimited, DRM-less analog audio stream from a cassette, ...

Clearly you've never mastered audio for cassette output. Typical compact cassette tape will start rolling-off around 12-14kHz; chrome tape will get you 16kHz; metal will get you close to 20kHz. Tape ain't the holy grail, as limitations of the medium impose compression, filtering, and band limitation (just in the analog domain.)

I just checked, and I can get 100 CD-Rs for $12 retail all day long. So my band can release a single on CD in an audio-CD format, or as a data disc with a raw uncompressed bit file. I can master this from the kitchen of my apartment, just like the article says.

In spite of the article claiming "this isn't another display of analog hipsterism," oh yes it is.

Slashdot Mirror

Cassettes Are Back, and Booming (fastcompany.com)

32 of 564 comments (clear)