Are you a physical media enthusiast?

[urszula]

There’s a lot of talk about music on this FORUM If I had a dollar every time someone asked about sideloading Spotify on Mudita Kompakt…

So, cassette tapes are making a surprising (and delightful) comeback
According to a video from CBS NEWS, physical music sales brought in $2 billion last year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). While vinyl and CDs still account for most of that, cassette tapes are part of the 5% year-over-year growth, signaling a real and measurable comeback.

Who on the forum remember that satisfying click of a cassette tape slotting into a SONY Walkman? The hiss before the music starts? The joy (and pain) of making the perfect mixtape? It turns out… cassettes are making a comeback ( and not just among retro collectors.
CBS recently aired a short but fascinating piece on the surge in cassette tape sales, featuring artists like Ariana Grande and Kendrick Lamar releasing albums on tape, a passionate community of young collectors, and even a visit to the Smithsonian to see how tapes are being preserved for future generations.

Cassette tapes see surprising sales surge

I’m curious as to what what’s driving the return of such a fragile, imperfect, and wonderfully analog format in a world of flawless digital streaming?

Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe it’s rebellion. Maybe it’s the human desire to hold onto something real.

Let’s talk about it:

• Do you still own or listen to cassette tapes? If so, what’s in your collection?
• Why do you think physical media (vinyl, tapes, CDs) is having a revival right now?
• What’s the last piece of music you physically owned? Would you ever go back?
• Is there value in listening to music more slowly and intentionally, you like we used to with tapes?

Looking forward to your thoughts & maybe your mixtape memories.

[buiosu]

Which physical media is the most time-proof? I remember tapes could get skewed over time. I’d love them back though. Felt a bit less prone to physical damage than CDs (despite much lower capacity than an mp3-filled disc but audio CDs are still like 60 or 90 minutes).

[minimalist4life]

I remember music on cassettes lol, honestly spotify is cool and convenient but I do like physical music, I often go to a retro store in my city that has all this older tech, I love going back to a simpler time, we have honestly lost so much of our SOUL as tech has progressed.

I love old record machines and listening to music intentionally

[catan]

Spotify is so convenient for our family I am not sure we could go back even if I wanted to (I do, but I am not a big listener of music, preferring silence more and more). We have a record player and I was gifted a record for Christmas. Apparently my favorite artist’s record is hard to find and therefore expensive. So it does not seem practical or at least I cannot devote the time and energy right now to make it happen.

I also love the simpler times, where you can really slow down and appreciate little things. Something like picking the song you want right now at this moment and expecting to get it-- it is very convenient but I don’t think it’s healthy…

[The]

Retro is in vogue now and I can see why.

On the topic of Spotify, they do not treat (or pay) music artists well and all of the record labels are in bed with Spotify. It’s a very unfortunate situation.

With smartphones and the internet, now nothing is physical. Especially when it comes to video games. Companies feel it necessary to double dip by charging you $80 for a digital download, a game pass subscription, an online subscription, DLC, and a Season Pass. On top of that, you can’t even play the games unless you’re online so you can add an internet subscription to that too.

I am very cynical about the future.

[whyoungblood]

Do you still own or listen to cassette tapes? If so, what’s in your collection?

I don’t own/listen to cassette tapes, but I actually got back into CDs when I needed to load up my Mudita Pure as well as the Bose Soundwave I inherited from my grandfather with music I myself owned! I was very disappointed when I asked my mom if we still had the CDs I grew up with only to learn she sold them when moving out of my childhood home! That said, there’s a really cool local CD store where I live which has allowed me to purchase albums from Santana, the Fugees, and Jimmy Buffett, with more to come from the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ricky Martin, and my new fave Grace Ives!

Why do you think physical media (vinyl, tapes, CDs) is having a revival right now?

I feel that part of the allure is nostalgia, whether one personally experienced physical media or not. I myself grew up with VHS tapes and DVDs, and I especially remember the excitement of getting my first HDTV and five free Blu-rays to go with my first Blu-ray player! At the same time, many Gen Z and Gen Alpha who never grew up with physical media are similarly embracing it as a “retro-chic” experience. Another benefit of physical media is that it cannot be altered or censored as we have seen in recent years with streaming, which ensures permanence of material.

What’s the last piece of music you physically owned? Would you ever go back?

Oops–already answered this question! I’ll make this a bonus round by expanding on my previous answer though: I enjoyed buying CDs so much that I also purchased a 4K Blu-ray player and am rebuilding a physical movie/TV show collection as well! There’s even still a video rental place where I live where you can rent DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K Blu-rays, so I still get the experience of the early 2000s movie rental nights I had as a kid all these years later!

Is there value in listening to music more slowly and intentionally, you like we used to with tapes?

Absolutely! Intentionality is a key part of listening to physical media, picking an entire album (often made to be listened to as a whole by the artist) rather than listening to individual songs a la streaming. It creates an entire experience of an hour, give or take, in which you immerse yourself in another world.

[thilodus]

Boredom during the so-called pandemic drove me to delve into almost forgotten physical media. I had fun transferring streamed music to cassettes and minidiscs.
I have to say, cassettes have rightfully been buried. If there really is a comeback of this kind, it won’t last. They’re simply too cumbersome to use, and you don’t want that kind of sound quality anymore. Things are a little different with minidiscs. They were actually a great medium that was killed off far too hastily by MP3. But since I’ve never given up on vinyl records and CDs, I’m continuing to focus on them.
I recently bought an iPod with 256GB of flash storage. I ripped all my CDs in ALAC, and ultimately, only albums that I physically own end up on the iPod. So I will definitely stay loyal to physical media.

[urszula]

@minimalist4life

honestly spotify is cool and convenient but I do like physical music,

@minimalist4life as someone who never had a music subscription service I can see the appeal. I was at the hair salon over the weekend & an old school playlist came one- which was very cool. Then I asked, what if the artists decide not to be on Spotify? Or if the app goes away at some point? What happens then? She was kind of taken aback because she never thought her ‘subscriptions’ could go away. But the fact is- apps do fold, they change & sometimes they disappear altogether.
I learned that the hard way…
I’m not sure if anyone remembers Audm (Long-form article audio app) They folded - well got bought up by New York times audio- which only has an iOS app (no android). Then the same thing happened to Curio which I was paying for. They also switched to iOS ONLY.

[minimalist4life]

I don’t think spotify is going anywhere anytime soon though lol

[eden]

its not, but like all of these streaming / on demand services, its all licensing. if spotify cant agree a license renewal with a label, the music vanishes from your account.

people might have seen similar issues with movies and tv shows vanishing from netflix and amazon.

for digital music, ive bought some music from other platforms that gives me the ‘physical’ digital music no drm, all mine.

the other nice option is CDs i think as these are east to rip if you want it on your media player, plus you get your CD

i think we’ve forgotten the importance of tangible things, and its coming back a little with vinyl and cd and tape sales.

i need to get myself a CD player i think, not sure id bother with tapes, but tbh… i dont know… maybe i should give tapes a try

[urszula]

@minimalist4life Just because an app is popular doesn’t mean it can’t disappear. Do you remember Vine? Or maybe you remember Google Play Music

[minimalist4life]

Very true lol

[rowancne]

I’d argue Spotify is a bit different. Vine was bought and killed by Twitter. Google was essentially merged into Youtube Music.

[urszula]

@rowancne Who’s to say that Spotify won’t merge or be bought up by another app. The truth is, Institutional investors hold the majority of Spotify’s shares at about 55-57% of total shares outstanding. They can sell at any time (for the right price) and then POW the app can change if the new majority owners want it to.

[The]

This is a great point. We’ve already got other music platforms like Tidal and Apple music, but what’s to stop music from being IP locked into multiple platforms like how movies and shows are with Netflix, Hulu, Max, Paramount, Prime etc.

[urszula]

I’m just gonna put this right here I think this will amuse the GEN X’s of this group.

[eden]

i think it might be the ultimate realisation that we never had to replace anything in the first place

[minimalist4life]

I love being Gen X lol

[buiosu]

I’m gen Y but have similar impressions thanks to my older brother.
My starting point was tapes though.
With all the subscriptions nowadays, I’m still happy that I have a month-long music directory on my laptop I got via Soulseek back in the days. And that nowadays, downloading music from like Youtube is possible.

[urszula]

@eden YUP. With analog making a comeback…turns out we never had to replace anything.