Editing Cassette tape (section)

==History==

===Precursors===
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Wollensak portable reel-to-reel tape recorder.jpg
 | caption1 = Wollensak portable reel-to-reel tape recorder
 | image2 = RCA Quarter Inch Tape Cartridge 2A.png
 | caption2 = Compact Cassette vs. RCA Tape Cartridge
}}

After the [[World War II|Second World War]], magnetic tape recording technology proliferated across the world. In the United States, [[Ampex]], using equipment obtained in Germany as a starting point, began commercial production of [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|reel-to-reel tape recorders]]. First used by broadcast studios to pre-record radio programs, tape recorders quickly found their way into schools and homes. By 1953, one million US homes had tape machines,<ref name=Vartape>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Brew Disk-To-Tape Revolution|date=16 September 1953|page=1|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety191-1953-09#page/n144/mode/1up|access-date=6 October 2019}}</ref> and several major record labels were releasing select titles on prerecorded reel-to-reel tapes.

In 1958, following four years of development, [[RCA Victor|RCA]] introduced the [[RCA tape cartridge]], which enclosed 60 minutes (30 minutes per side) of stereo quarter-inch reel-to-reel tape within a plastic cartridge that could be utilized on a compatible tape recorder/player without having to thread the tape through the machine.<ref>{{cite web|title=RCA Victor Announces Major Break-Through in Recorded Sound|url=http://museumofmagneticsoundrecording.org/images/R2R/vinAd59RCA2.jpg|website=Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording|access-date=December 19, 2024}}</ref> This format was not very successful, and RCA discontinued it in 1964.<ref>{{cite web|last=Cook|first=Diana|url=http://blog.dianaschnuth.com/details/audio/cartridge.html|title=RCA Cartridges: 1958 - 1964|website=blog.dianaschnuth.com|access-date=December 19, 2024|archive-date=2 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002095537/http://blog.dianaschnuth.com/details/audio/cartridge.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Development and release===
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Norelco_Cartridge_Tape_Carry-Corder_150_User_Manual_cover_page.jpg
 | caption1 = Operating instructions for the Philips/Norelco Cartridge Tape Carry-Corder 150 (1964)
 | image2 = Philips EL3302.jpg
 | caption2 = One of the first cassette recorders from Philips, the Typ EL 3302 (1968)
 | image3 = Memorex Compact Cassette opened.jpg
 | caption3 = Inside of a cassette}}

In the early 1960s, Philips tasked two teams to design a high-quality tape cartridge for home use, using thinner and narrower tape than that used in reel-to-reel tape recorders. A team at its Vienna factory, which had experience with [[dictation machine]]s, developed the ''Einloch-Kassette'', or [[single-hole cassette]], with [[Grundig]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7eA7AAAAMAAJ|title=Radio Elektronik Schau|year=1965|volume=41|language=de}}</ref> At the same time, a team in [[Hasselt]] led by [[Lou Ottens]] developed a two-hole cassette under the name ''Pocket Recorder''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rothman|first=Lily|title=Rewound: On its 50th birthday, the cassette tape is still rolling|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2148631,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802030310/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2148631,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 August 2013|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=6 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Gouden jubileum muziekcassette|url=http://nos.nl/artikel/546117-gouden-jubileum-muziekcassette.html|work=NOS|date=30 August 2013|access-date=30 December 2013|archive-date=31 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000250/http://nos.nl/artikel/546117-gouden-jubileum-muziekcassette.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/02/compact_cassette_supremo_lou_ottens_talks_to_el_reg/?page=1 |title=Compact Cassette supremo Lou Ottens talks to El Reg |date=2 September 2013 |access-date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041230/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/02/compact_cassette_supremo_lou_ottens_talks_to_el_reg/?page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Philips selected the two-spool cartridge as a winner and introduced the 2-track 2-direction mono version in Europe on 28 August 1963 at the [[Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin|Berlin Radio Show]],<ref name=TheRegister/><ref name=EncyclopediaPopCulture/><ref>{{cite book|last=Morton|first=David|title=Sound recording: the life story of a technology|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|date=2004|page=161}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Sheperd|first=John|title=Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|date=2003|page=506}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|date=4 November 1967|title=Cassette Rampage Forecast|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|volume=79|issue=44|pages=1, 72|issn=0006-2510}}</ref><ref name="bb8467">{{cite magazine|date=8 April 1967|title=European Mfrs. Bid for Market Share|magazine=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|volume=79|issue=14|page=18|issn=0006-2510}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Drees|first1=Jan|last2=Vorbau|first2=Christian|title=Kassettendeck: Soundtrack einer Generation|publisher=Klappenbroschur|isbn=978-3821866147|date=23 May 2011}}</ref> and in the United States (under the ''[[Norelco]]'' brand) in November 1964. The same year, mass production of blank compact cassettes began in [[Hanover]].<ref name=EncyclopediaPopCulture/> Philips also offered a machine to play and record the cassettes, the Philips ''Typ EL 3300''. An updated model, ''Typ EL 3301'' was offered in the US in November 1964 as [[Norelco]] ''Carry-Corder 150''. The [[trademark]] name ''Compact Cassette'' came a year later.

Following rejection of the ''Einloch-Kassette'', Grundig developed the [[DC-International]] (DC standing for ''Double Cassette'') based on drawings of the Compact Cassette, introducing it in 1965 as companies were competing to establish their format as the worldwide standard.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thegreatbear.net/audio-tape/grundig-c100/|title=Grundig C 100 and the early history of the Compact Cassette|date=7 March 2016|access-date=14 March 2021|archive-date=24 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024034435/https://thegreatbear.net/audio-tape/grundig-c100/|url-status=live}}</ref> After yielding to pressure from [[Sony]] to [[license]] the Compact Cassette format to them free of charge, Philips' format achieved market dominance,<ref>{{cite book|last=Nathan|first=John|title=Sony: the Private Life|date=1999|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|page=129|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XZ11jJPKQQC&q=philips+company+cassette+free+licensing&pg=PA129|access-date=8 November 2015|isbn=978-0618126941}}</ref> with the DC-International cassette format being discontinued in 1967, just two years after its introduction.

Philips improved on the Compact Cassette's original design to release a stereo version. By 1966 over 250,000 compact cassette recorders had been sold in the US alone. Japanese manufacturers soon became the leading source of recorders. By 1968, 85 manufacturers had sold over 2.4 million mono and stereo units.<ref name=EncyclopediaPopCulture/><ref name="Hans-Joachim Braun 2002, p.161">{{cite book|last=Braun|first=Hans-Joachim|title=Music and technology in the twentieth century|publisher=JHU Press|date=2002|page=161}}</ref> By the end of the 1960s, the cassette business was worth an estimated $150 million,<ref name=EncyclopediaPopCulture/> and by the early 1970s compact cassette machines were outselling other types of tape machines by a large margin.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Dolby stretcher — new boon for tape|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Tape-Recording/60s/Tape-Recording-1970-11-12.pdf|publisher=Tape Recording ##11-12, 1970|page=11|archive-date=20 May 2024|access-date=10 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520070103/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Tape-Recording/60s/Tape-Recording-1970-11-12.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Popularity of music cassettes===
Prerecorded '''music cassettes''' (also known as ''Music-Cassettes'', and later just '''Musicassettes''') were launched in Europe in late 1965. The [[Mercury Record Company]], a US affiliate of Philips, introduced Musicassettes to the US in July 1966. The initial offering consisted of 49 titles.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=16 July 1966|title=Mercury Issues 49 'Cassettes'|magazine=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|volume=78|issue=29|page=69|issn=0006-2510}}</ref>

The compact cassette format was initially designed for dictation and portable use, and the audio quality of early players was not well-suited for music. In 1971, the [[Henry Kloss|Advent Corporation]] introduced their Model 201 tape deck that combined [[Dolby noise-reduction system|Dolby type B]] noise reduction and [[chromium(IV) oxide]] (CrO<sub>2</sub>) tape, with a commercial-grade tape transport mechanism supplied by the Wollensak camera division of 3M Corporation. This resulted in the format being taken more seriously for musical use, and started the era of [[high fidelity]] cassettes and players.<ref name="Camras">{{Cite book |title=Magnetic Tape Recording |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-442-21774-7 |editor=Marvin Camras}}</ref>

British record labels began releasing Musicassettes in October 1967, and they exploded as a mass-market medium after the first [[Walkman]], the TPS-L2, went on sale on 1 July 1979, as cassettes provided portability, which vinyl records could not. While portable radios and boom boxes had been around for some time, the Walkman was the first truly personal portable music player, one that not only allowed users to listen to music away from home, but to do so in private. According to the technology news website The Verge, "the world changed" on the day the TPS-L2 was released.<ref name="Guardian3.29.10">{{cite news |title=Return of the audio cassette |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/29/audio-cassette-comeback |access-date=14 August 2023 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=29 March 2010 |last1=Lynskey |first1=Dorian }}</ref><ref name="TheVerge">{{cite web |title=40 years ago, the Sony Walkman changed how we listen to music |date=July 2019 |url=https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/7/1/20677636/sony-walkman-anniversary-tps-l2-cassette-music-player-portable-mp3-evolution |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=The Verge |archive-date=13 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713001243/https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/7/1/20677636/sony-walkman-anniversary-tps-l2-cassette-music-player-portable-mp3-evolution |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="History.com">{{cite web |title=The first Sony Walkman goes on sale |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-sony-walkman-goes-on-sale |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=[[History.com]] |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812193052/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-sony-walkman-goes-on-sale |url-status=live }}</ref> Stereo tape decks and [[boom box]]es became some of the most highly sought-after consumer products of both decades, as the ability of users to take their music with them anywhere with ease<ref name=EncyclopediaPopCulture>{{cite book|last1=Millard|first1=Andre|chapter=Cassette Tape|date=2013|title=[[St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture]]|page=529|edition=2.1}}</ref> led to its popularity around the globe.<ref name=EncyclopediaPopCulture/><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Digital Compact Cassette|date=1994|volume=82|issue=10|pages = 1479–1489|journal=[[Proceedings of the IEEE]]|last = Hoogendoorn|first=A|doi=10.1109/5.326405}}</ref>

[[File:Original Sony Walkman TPS-L2.JPG|thumb|upright|left|The [[Sony Walkman]] TPS-L2]]
Like the [[transistor radio]] in the 1950s and 1960s, the [[portable CD player]] in the 1990s, and the [[MP3 player]] in the 2000s, the Walkman defined the portable music market for the decade of the '80s, with cassette sales overtaking those of [[gramophone record|LPs]].<ref name="Daniel">{{Cite book |author1=Eric D. Daniel |url=https://archive.org/details/magneticrecordin00eric |title=Magnetic Recording: The First 100 Years |author2=C. Dennis Mee |author3=Mark H. Clark |publisher=The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7803-4709-0}}</ref><ref name = Walkman/> Total [[Gramophone record|vinyl record]] sales remained higher well into the 1980s due to greater sales of singles, although [[cassette single]]s achieved popularity for a period in the 1990s.<ref name=Walkman>{{Cite book|title=Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman|author1=Paul du Gay |author2=Stuart Hall |author3=Linda Janes |author4=Hugh Mackay |author5=Keith Negus |year=1997|publisher=Sage Publications Ltd|isbn= 978-0-7619-5402-6}}</ref> Another barrier to cassettes overtaking vinyl in sales was [[shoplifting]]; compact cassettes were small enough that a thief could easily place one inside a pocket and walk out of a shop without being noticed. To prevent this, retailers in the US would place cassettes inside oversized "spaghetti box" containers or locked [[display case]]s, either of which would significantly inhibit browsing, thus reducing cassette sales.<ref name="Record8">{{cite journal|last=Gans|first=David |title=Packaging Innovations Raise Cassettes' In-store Profile|journal=Record|date=June 1983|volume=2 |issue=8|page=20}}</ref>

During the early 1980s some record labels sought to solve this problem by introducing new, larger packages for cassettes which would allow them to be displayed alongside vinyl records and [[compact disc]]s, or giving them a further market advantage over vinyl by adding [[bonus track]]s.<ref name="Record8" /> Willem Andriessen wrote that the development in technology allowed "hardware designers to discover and satisfy one of the collective desires of human beings all over the world, independent of region, climate, religion, culture, race, sex, age and education: the desire to enjoy music at any time, at any place, in any desired sound quality and almost at any wanted price".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Andriessen|first=Willem|title="THE WINNER": Compact Cassette. A Commercial and Technological Look Back at the Greatest Success Story in the History of Audio Up to Now|journal=[[Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials]]|date=1999|volume=193|issue=1–3|pages=12 |doi=10.1016/s0304-8853(98)00502-2}}</ref> Critic [[Robert Palmer (American writer)|Robert Palmer]], writing in ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 1981, cited the proliferation of personal stereos as well as extra tracks not available on LP as reasons for the surge in popularity of cassettes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Palmer |first1=Robert |author1-link=Robert Palmer (American writer) |title=The Pop Life; Cassettes Now Have Material Not Available On Disks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/29/arts/the-pop-life-cassettes-now-have-material-not-available-on-disks.html |access-date=27 April 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=29 July 1981 |archive-date=30 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430032219/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/29/arts/the-pop-life-cassettes-now-have-material-not-available-on-disks.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cassettes' ability to allow users to record content in public also led to a boom in [[Bootleg recording|bootleg]] cassettes made at live shows in the 1980s.<ref name="Guardian8.30.13">{{cite web |date=30 August 2013 |title=Total rewind: 10 key moments in the life of the cassette |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/30/cassette-store-day-music-tapes |access-date=14 August 2023 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=14 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814115240/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/30/cassette-store-day-music-tapes |url-status=live }}</ref> The Walkman dominated the decade, selling up to 350 million units. So synonymous did the name "Walkman" become with all portable music players—with a German dictionary at one point defining the term as such without reference to Sony—that the Austrian Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that Sony, which had not sought to have the publisher of that dictionary retract that definition, could not prevent other companies from using that name, as it had now become genericized.<ref name="WeForum">{{cite web |title=As Apple kills off the iPod ... here are 5 other pieces of beloved tech we've said goodbye to in the past 20 years |date=16 August 2017 |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/in-loving-memory-of-the-ipod-and-five-other-pieces-of-beloved-tech-we-ve-killed-off-in-the-past-20-years/ |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=We Forum |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812194601/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/in-loving-memory-of-the-ipod-and-five-other-pieces-of-beloved-tech-we-ve-killed-off-in-the-past-20-years/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WorldTrademark">{{cite web |title='Walkman' has become generic, rules Supreme Court |url=https://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/article/walkman-has-become-generic-rules-supreme-court |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=World Trademark Review |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812193102/https://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/article/walkman-has-become-generic-rules-supreme-court |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=PinsentMasons>{{cite web|url=https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/sony-loses-walkman-trade-mark-as-too-generic|publisher=Pinsent Masons|title=Sony loses Walkman trade mark as too generic|date=5 June 2002|access-date=12 August 2023|archive-date=12 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812225757/https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/sony-loses-walkman-trade-mark-as-too-generic|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of this, a number of Sony's competitors produced their own version of the Walkman. Others made their own branded tape players, like JVC, Panasonic, Sharp, and Aiwa, the second-largest producer of the devices.<ref name="VinylFactory">{{cite web |title=Rewind! A guide to the best portable cassette players |date=24 March 2017 |url=https://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-8-best-portable-cassette-players/ |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=The Vinyl Factory |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812193059/https://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-8-best-portable-cassette-players/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Between 1985, when cassettes overtook vinyl, and 1992, when they were overtaken by CDs<ref name=History.com/>{{Failed verification|date=October 2024|reason=The history.com source provides no information about its popularity in relation to vinyl or CDs}} (introduced in 1983 as a format that offered greater storage capacity and more accurate sound),<ref name="LATimes">{{cite web |title=In a digital age, vinyl's making a comeback |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-apr-26-et-vinyl26-story.html |access-date=14 August 2023 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=26 April 2009 |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812225755/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-apr-26-et-vinyl26-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=October 2024|reason=Source does not contain information about CDs benefits against cassette, however it does mention the introduction of CDs in 1983}} the cassette tape was the most popular format in the United States<ref name=History.com/> and the UK. Record labels experimented with innovative packaging designs. A designer during the era explained: "There was so much money in the industry at the time, we could try anything with design." The introduction of the [[cassette single]], called a "cassingle", was also part of this era and featured a music single in Compact Cassette form. Until 2005, cassettes remained the dominant medium for purchasing and listening to music in some [[Developing country|developing countries]], but [[compact disc]] (CD) technology had superseded the Compact Cassette in the vast majority of music markets throughout the world by this time.<ref name=BBCthirdworld>{{Cite news|title=Not long left for cassette tapes|publisher=BBC|date=17 June 2005|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4099904.stm|access-date=13 September 2006|archive-date=29 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129050032/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4099904.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Total rewind: 10 key moments in the life of the cassette|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/30/cassette-store-day-music-tapes|access-date=17 March 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=30 August 2013|author=Jude Rogers|author-link=Jude Rogers|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814115240/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/30/cassette-store-day-music-tapes|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Cassette culture===
{{further|Cassette culture}}

Compact cassettes served as catalysts for social change. Their small size, durability and ease of copying helped bring underground rock and punk music behind the [[Iron Curtain]], creating a foothold for Western culture among the younger generations.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Robin James|title=Cassette Mythos |isbn=978-0-936756-69-1|year=1992|publisher=Autonomedia|location=Brooklyn, NY}}</ref> Likewise, in Egypt cassettes empowered an unprecedented number of people to create culture, circulate information, and challenge ruling regimes before the internet became publicly accessible.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simon |first=Andrew |url=https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=31649 |title=Media of the Masses: Cassette Culture in Modern Egypt |date=2022 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-2943-1 |location=Stanford |archive-date=16 May 2024 |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516141320/https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=31649 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Cassettes at a Cairo Kiosk.jpg|thumb|upright|Cassettes at a Cairo Kiosk (2015)<ref>{{cite book | url=https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=31649 | isbn=9781503629431 | title=Media of the Masses: Cassette Culture in Modern Egypt | year=2022 | publisher=Stanford University Press | archive-date=16 May 2024 | access-date=16 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516141320/https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=31649 | url-status=live }}</ref>]]

One of the political uses of cassette tapes was the dissemination of sermons by the exiled [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah Khomeini]] throughout [[Iran]] before the 1979 [[Iranian Revolution]], in which Khomeini urged the overthrow of the regime of the [[Shah]], [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]].<ref>{{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/assimilatecritic0000reed/page/113 113]|title=Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music|author=S. Alexander Reed|isbn=978-0199832606|year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/assimilatecritic0000reed/page/113}}</ref> During the [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)|military dictatorship of Chile]] (1973–1990) a "cassette culture" emerged where [[blacklisting|blacklisted]] music or music that was by other reasons not available as records was shared.<ref name=GonzLau19>{{Cite book|title=The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture|last=Jordán González|first=Laura|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4833-1775-5|pages=509–511|editor-last=Sturman|editor-first=Janet|chapter=Chile: Modern and Contemporary Performance Practice}}</ref><ref name=Laura2009>{{Cite journal|title=Música y clandestinidad en dictadura: la represión, la circulación de músicas de resistencia y el casete clandestino|journal=Revista Musical Chilena|url=https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-27902009000200006|last=Jordán|first=Laura|year=2009|volume=63|pages=212|issue=Julio-Diciembre|doi=10.4067/S0716-27902009000200006|language=es|trans-title=Music and "clandestinidad" During the Time of the Chilean Dictatorship: Repression and the Circulation of Music of Resistance and Clandestine Cassettes|doi-access=free|archive-date=18 April 2023|access-date=8 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418205549/https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0716-27902009000200006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=OmarMarco2017>{{Cite journal|title=Etnografía de la música mexicana en Chile: Estudio de caso|journal=Revista Electrónica de Divulgación de la Investigación|last1=Montoya Arias|first1=Luis Omar|date=12 September 2017|pages=1–20|last2=Díaz Güemez|first2=Marco Aurelio|language=es|volume=14}}</ref> Some [[Copyright infringement|pirate]] cassette producers created brands such as ''Cumbre y Cuatro'' that have in retrospect received praise for their contributions to popular music.<ref name=OmarMarco2017/> [[Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990)|Armed groups]] such as [[Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front]] (FPMR) and the [[Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)|Revolutionary Left Movement]] (MIR) made use of cassettes to spread their messages.<ref name=Laura2009/>

Cassette technology was a booming market for [[Indian music|pop music in India]], drawing criticism from conservatives while at the same time creating a huge market for legitimate recording companies, as well as pirated tapes.<ref name=Manuel>{{Cite book |author=Peter Manuel |title=Cassette Culture: Popular Music and Technology in North India |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-226-50401-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/cassetteculturep00manu }}</ref> Some sales channels were associated with cassettes: in Spain [[filling station]]s often featured a display selling cassettes. While offering also mainstream music these cassettes became associated with genres such as [[Gipsy rhumba]], light music and joke tapes that were common in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Retina">{{cite news |last1=Arenas |first1=Guillermo |title=Las cintas de casete pasan de la gasolinera a la Biblioteca Nacional |url=https://retina.elpais.com/retina/2019/08/13/tendencias/1565685637_246147.html |newspaper=El País |access-date=23 May 2020 |language=es |date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521163223/https://retina.elpais.com/retina/2019/08/13/tendencias/1565685637_246147.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Decline===
Despite sales of CDs overtaking those of prerecorded cassettes in the early 1990s in the U.S.,<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Sales Database |url=https://www.riaa.com/u-s-sales-database/ |website=RIAA |access-date=19 October 2022 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010043013/https://www.riaa.com/u-s-sales-database/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the format remained popular for specific applications, such as [[car audio]], [[personal stereo]]s, [[boomboxes]], [[telephone answering machine]]s, [[dictation (exercise)|dictation]], [[field recording]], [[home recording]], and [[mixtape]]s well into the decade. Cassette players were typically more resistant to shocks than CD players, and their lower fidelity was not considered a serious drawback in mobile use. With the introduction of [[electronic skip protection]] it became possible to use portable CD players on the go, and automotive CD players became viable. [[CD-R]] drives and media also became affordable for consumers around the same time.<ref>{{cite web |title=1995: Consumer CD-R Drive Priced Below $1000 |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/storageengine/consumer-cd-r-drive-priced-below-1000/ |website=Computer History Museum |access-date=23 January 2022 |archive-date=21 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321023830/https://www.computerhistory.org/storageengine/consumer-cd-r-drive-priced-below-1000/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

By 1993, annual shipments of CD players had reached 5 million, up 21% from the year before; while cassette player shipments had dropped 7% to approximately 3.4 million.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Record and prerecorded tape stores|encyclopedia=Gale Encyclopedia of American Industries|year=2005|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/record-and-prerecorded-tape-stores|access-date=20 September 2006|archive-date=26 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726124256/http://www.answers.com/topic/record-and-prerecorded-tape-stores|url-status=live}}</ref> Sales of pre-recorded music cassettes in the US dropped from 442 million in 1990 to 274,000 by 2007.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Tape Echo: Specialty labels keep cassettes alive |magazine=Billboard |url=http://www.lostsoundtapes.com/files/billboard_magazine.jpg |date=11 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225121218/http://www.lostsoundtapes.com/files/billboard_magazine.jpg |archive-date=25 February 2009 }}</ref> For [[audiobook]]s, the final year that cassettes represented more than 50% of total market sales was 2002 when they were replaced by CDs as the dominant media.<ref name="apa2004">[http://www.audiopub.org/LinkedFiles/APA_Fact_Sheet.pdf Audio Publishers Association Fact Sheet] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026033037/http://www.audiopub.org/LinkedFiles/APA_Fact_Sheet.pdf |date=26 October 2010 }} (also includes some historical perspective in the 1950s by Marianne Roney)</ref>

The last new car with an available cassette player was a 2014 [[Tagaz Aquila|TagAZ AQUiLA.]]<ref>{{Cite news|title=Tagaz Aquila|language=Russian|newspaper=Wroom.ru|url=https://wroom.ru/cars/tagaz/aquila|access-date=26 January 2021|archive-date=17 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117102832/https://wroom.ru/cars/tagaz/aquila|url-status=live}}</ref> Four years prior, Sony had stopped the production of personal cassette players.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sony kills the cassette Walkman on the iPod's birthday|date=23 October 2010|url=https://gizmodo.com/sony-kills-the-cassette-walkman-on-the-ipods-birthday-5671670|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025823/https://gizmodo.com/sony-kills-the-cassette-walkman-on-the-ipods-birthday-5671670|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] removed the phrase "cassette player" from its 12th edition Concise version,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/11/reports-of-the-death-of-the-cassette-tape-are-greatly-exaggerated/ | access-date=28 January 2015 | dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary | first=Ammon | last=Shea | title=Reports of the death of the cassette tape are greatly exaggerated | date=10 November 2011 | archive-date=12 May 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512113109/http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/11/reports-of-the-death-of-the-cassette-tape-are-greatly-exaggerated/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> which prompted some media sources to mistakenly report that the term "cassette tape" was being removed.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22/cassette-tapes-removal-from-dictionary_n_932107.html | work=Huffington Post | first=David | last=Moye | title=Oxford Dictionary Removes 'Cassette Tape,' Gets Sound Lashing From Audiophiles | date=22 August 2011 | archive-date=6 March 2018 | access-date=26 September 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306201643/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22/cassette-tapes-removal-from-dictionary_n_932107.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

In India, music continued to be released on the cassette format due to its low cost until 2009.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kohli-Khandekar, Vanita|title=The Indian Media Business|edition=4|location=New Delhi|publisher=Sage India|date=2013|pages=184–90|isbn=9788132118015|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tRdBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT184|via=[[Google Books]]|accessdate=26 July 2022}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Burmese music casette tapes, Yangon, Myanmar.jpg|thumb|Burmese music cassette tapes for sale, [[Yangon]], [[Myanmar]] (2006)]]

Although [[Audio recorder#Digital|portable digital recorders]] are most common today, analog tape remains a desirable option for certain artists and consumers.<ref name=Guardian3.29.10/><ref name="Segal">{{Cite journal |last=Segal |first=Dave |date=9 March 2016 |title=Baby, I'm for Reel: Unspooling the Affordable, Accessible Microeconomy of the Cassette Revival |journal=[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]] |url=http://www.thestranger.com/music/2016/03/09/23679384/baby-im-for-reel-unspooling-the-affordable-accessible-microeconomy-of-the-cassette-revival |access-date=11 March 2016 |archive-date=10 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310193705/http://www.thestranger.com/music/2016/03/09/23679384/baby-im-for-reel-unspooling-the-affordable-accessible-microeconomy-of-the-cassette-revival |url-status=live }}</ref> Underground and [[DIY punk ethic|DIY]] communities release regularly, and sometimes exclusively, on cassette format, particularly in [[experimental music]] circles and to a lesser extent in [[hardcore punk]], [[death metal]], and [[black metal]] circles, out of a fondness for the format. Even among major-label stars, the form has at least one devotee: [[Thurston Moore]] stated in 2009, "I only listen to cassettes."<ref name="pitchfork.com">{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7764-this-is-not-a-mixtape/ |title=Articles: This Is Not a Mixtape |website=Pitchfork |date=22 February 2010 |access-date=20 August 2010 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054958/http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7764-this-is-not-a-mixtape/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 2019, few companies still made cassettes. Among those are National Audio Company, from the US, and Mulann, also known as Recording The Masters, from France.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.fr/20190322/french-firm-opens-factory-making-first-cassettes-since-1990s-after-artists-like-taylor-swift-go-for-retro-tapes|title=French firm opens factory making first cassettes since 1990s after artists like Taylor Swift go retro|date=22 March 2019|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=31 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231172442/https://www.thelocal.fr/20190322/french-firm-opens-factory-making-first-cassettes-since-1990s-after-artists-like-taylor-swift-go-for-retro-tapes/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2019/04/22/springfield-audiocassettes-business-national-audio-company-cassette-making/3501329002/|title=National Audio Company now has a cassette-making competitor. They're in France|access-date=9 April 2020|archive-date=28 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128054011/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2019/04/22/springfield-audiocassettes-business-national-audio-company-cassette-making/3501329002/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Sony announced the end of cassette Walkman production on 22 October 2010,<ref name="TechCrunch">{{cite web |title=End Of An Era: Sony Stops Manufacturing Cassette Walkmans |date=22 October 2010 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/10/22/an-era-ends-sony-stops-manufacturing-cassette-walkmans/ |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=[[Tech Crunch]] |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812193054/https://techcrunch.com/2010/10/22/an-era-ends-sony-stops-manufacturing-cassette-walkmans/ |url-status=live }}</ref> a result of the emergence of MP3 players such as Apple's iPod.<ref name="AP10.26.10">{{cite web |date=26 October 2010 |title=Original Walkman is RiP (replaced by iPod) |url=https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2010/10/26/original-walkman-is-rip-replaced/8000661007/ |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher= |language=en-US |via= |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812193058/https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2010/10/26/original-walkman-is-rip-replaced/8000661007/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2022, Sony uses the Walkman brand solely for its line of digital media players.<ref name="NYTimes3.10.22">{{cite web |date=10 March 2022 |title=Do You Still Love the Walkman? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/technology/walkman-nostalgia.html |access-date=14 August 2023 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812193058/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/technology/walkman-nostalgia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2010, Botswana-based Diamond Studios announced plans<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201004190264.html|title=Zimbabwe: Diamond Studios to Commission Cassette Plant|first=Ruth|last=Butaumocho|date=19 April 2010|access-date=1 January 2017|via=AllAfrica|archive-date=20 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020152113/http://allafrica.com/stories/201004190264.html|url-status=live}}</ref> for establishing a plant to mass-produce cassettes in a bid to combat piracy. It opened in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |first = Robyn |last = Curnow |title = Pause and Rewind: Zimbabwe's Audio Cassette Boom |date = 7 June 2011 |url = http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/06/07/cassette.culture.zimbabwe/index.html |work = CNN |access-date = 13 July 2011 |archive-date = 12 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110712212253/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/06/07/cassette.culture.zimbabwe/index.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>

In South Korea, the early English education boom for toddlers encourages a continuous demand for English language cassettes, {{as of|2011|lc=y|post=,}} due to the affordable cost.<ref>{{cite news|first=Yeon-jin (연진) |last=Choi (최) |script-title=ko:멸종 중인 카세트, 한국선 '장수 만세 |date=31 May 2011 |url=http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/economy/201105/h2011053102312221540.htm |work=Hankook Ilbo |access-date=13 July 2011 |language=ko |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814081328/http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/economy/201105/h2011053102312221540.htm |archive-date=14 August 2011 }}</ref>

[[National Audio Company]] in Missouri, the largest of the few remaining manufacturers of audio cassettes in the US, oversaw the mass production of the [[Guardians of the Galaxy (soundtrack)|''"Awesome Mix #1"'']] cassette from the film ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy (film)|Guardians of the Galaxy]]'' in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Meet The Owner Of America's Last Awesome Cassette Tape Factory|url = https://www.slantnews.com/story/2015-09-16-meet-the-owner-of-americas-last-awesome-cassette-tape-factory|website=Slant|access-date = 4 June 2017|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419090228/https://www.slantnews.com/story/2015-09-16-meet-the-owner-of-americas-last-awesome-cassette-tape-factory|archive-date=19 April 2016}}</ref> They reported that they had produced more than 10 million tapes in 2014 and that sales were up 20 percent the following year, their best year since they opened in 1969.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Company Is Still Making Audio Cassettes and Sales Are Better Than Ever |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-01/this-company-is-still-making-audio-cassettes-and-sales-are-better-than-ever |access-date=9 September 2015 |author=Jeniece Pettitt |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=1 September 2015 |archive-date=7 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907104602/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-01/this-company-is-still-making-audio-cassettes-and-sales-are-better-than-ever |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2016, cassette sales in the United States rose by 74% to 129,000.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7662572/us-cassette-album-sales-increase-2016-guardians|title=U.S. Cassette Album Sales Increased by 74% in 2016, Led by 'Guardians' Soundtrack|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=21 January 2017}}</ref> In 2018, following several years of shortage, National Audio Company began producing their own magnetic tape, becoming the world's first known manufacturer of an all-new tape stock.<ref>{{cite web|title=The world was running out of cassette tape. Now it's being made in Springfield.|url=https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2018/01/07/world-running-out-cassette-tape-now-its-being-made-springfield/852739001/|work=Springfield News-Leader|access-date=24 April 2018|date=7 January 2018|archive-date=4 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804143210/https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2018/01/07/world-running-out-cassette-tape-now-its-being-made-springfield/852739001/|url-status=live}}</ref> Mulann, a company which acquired [[Recording Media Group International|Pyral/RMGI]] in 2015 and originates from [[BASF]], also started production of its new cassette tape stock in 2018, basing on reel tape formula.<ref>{{cite web|title=Audio cassettes are produced again!|url=https://www.recordingthemasters.com/2018/10/11/audio-cassettes-are-produced-again/|work=Mulann S.A.|access-date=6 May 2020|date=11 October 2018|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727075845/https://www.recordingthemasters.com/2018/10/11/audio-cassettes-are-produced-again/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In Japan and South Korea, the pop acts [[Seiko Matsuda]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UPSH-89001 |title=Eien no Motto Hate Made / Wakusei ni Naritai [Cassette Tape] [Limited Edition / Type C] |website=CDJapan }}, CD Japan. Retrieved 13 June 2018</ref> [[SHINee]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yesasia.com/global/shinee-vol-5-1-of-1-cassette-tape-limited-edition/1053520608-0-0-0-en/info.html |title=SHINee Vol. 5 - 1 of 1 (Cassette Tape Limited Edition)}}, YesAsia. Retrieved 13 June 2018</ref> and [[NCT (band)|NCT 127]] released their material on [[Special edition|limited-run]] cassettes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tower.jp/item/4710517/Chain-%5b%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9E%E3%83%97%E3%83%A9%E4%BB%98%5d%EF%BC%9C%E5%88%9D%E5%9B%9E%E7%94%9F%E7%94%A3%E9%99%90%E5%AE%9A%E7%9B%A4%EF%BC%9E |title=【カセットテープ】 Chain ［スマプラ付］＜初回生産限定盤＞] |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-date=5 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605054138/https://tower.jp/item/4710517/Chain-%255B%25E3%2582%25B9%25E3%2583%259E%25E3%2583%2597%25E3%2583%25A9%25E4%25BB%2598%255D%25EF%25BC%259C%25E5%2588%259D%25E5%259B%259E%25E7%2594%259F%25E7%2594%25A3%25E9%2599%2590%25E5%25AE%259A%25E7%259B%25A4%25EF%25BC%259E |url-status=live }}, Tower Records Japan. Retrieved 13 June 2018</ref> In [[Reiwa era]] Japan, the revived popularity of cassette tapes is an example of [[Showa retro]].<ref>[https://chuokoron.jp/culture/125070.html 昭和レトロはどこへ行く――令和の若者にウケるわけ]. [[Chūō Kōron]]. 10 May 2024.</ref><ref>[https://ascii.jp/elem/000/004/089/4089087/ カセットテープ再ブーム時代に「カセットテープ型2.5インチドライブケース」を衝動買い]. [[ASCII Corporation|ASCII]].14 April 2022.</ref> As of 2021, [[Maxell]] was selling 8 million cassette tapes per year in Japan.<ref>[https://www.vice.com/en/article/cassette-tapes-comeback-trend-japan-nostalgia-gen-z-music-fashion/ Cassette Tapes Are Making a Comeback in Japan]. Vice. 10 February 2021.</ref>

In the mid-to-late 2010s, cassette sales saw a modest resurgence concurrent with the [[vinyl revival]]. As early as 2015, the retail chain [[Urban Outfitters]], which had long sold [[LP record|LPs]], started selling new pre-recorded cassettes (both new and old albums), blank cassettes, and players.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/category.jsp?id=MUSIC-CASSETTES#/ |title=Cassettes|accessdate=30 July 2016|archivedate=27 November 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127102342/https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/category.jsp?id=MUSIC-CASSETTES#/}}</ref> In 2016, cassette sales increased,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thevinylfactory.com/news/cassette-album-sales-rise-74-2016/ |title=Cassette sales increased by 74% in 2016|date=23 January 2017}} The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 26 October 2018</ref> a trend that continued in 2017<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thevinylfactory.com/news/cassette-sales-2017/ |title=Cassette sales grew 35% in 2017|date=5 January 2018}} The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 26 October 2018</ref> and 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thevinylfactory.com/news/uk-cassette-sales-grew-90-percent-first-half-2018/ |title=UK cassette sales grew by 90% in first half of 2018|date=26 July 2018}} The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 26 October 2018</ref> In the UK, sales of cassette tapes in 2021 reached its highest number since 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Let's get physical: new BPI report shows vinyl & cassettes sales surge, decline of the CD slows |url=https://www.musicweek.com/labels/read/let-s-get-physical-new-bpi-report-shows-vinyl-cassettes-sales-surge-decline-of-the-cd-slows/084895 |access-date=14 September 2022 |website=MusicWeek.com }}</ref>

Cassettes are favored by some artists and listeners, including those of older genres of music such as [[dansband]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Vad händer med dansbandsutgivningen när Bert säljer? |url=http://www.dansbandsbloggen.se/2006/05/vad-hnder-med-dansbandsutgivningen-nr.html |access-date=14 August 2023 |archive-date=20 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820082718/http://www.dansbandsbloggen.se/2006/05/vad-hnder-med-dansbandsutgivningen-nr.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as [[independent music|independent]]<ref name=Guardian3.29.10/> and [[underground music|underground artists]],<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |title=This Is Not a Mixtape |date=22 February 2010 |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/7764-this-is-not-a-mixtape/ |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=Pitchfork |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054958/http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7764-this-is-not-a-mixtape/ |url-status=live }}</ref> some of whom were releasing new music on tape by the 2020s, including [[Britney Spears]] and [[Busta Rhymes]].<ref name="Discogs">{{cite web |title=Popular/Major Releases on Cassette [2021 NEW] |url=https://www.discogs.com/lists/PopularMajor-Releases-on-Cassette-2021-NEW/728533 |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=Discogs}}</ref> Reasons cited for this include tradition, low cost,<ref name=Guardian3.29.10/> the [[DIY]] ease of use,<ref name="TheStranger">{{cite web |title=Baby, I'm for Reel: Unspooling the Affordable, Accessible Microeconomy of the Cassette Revival |url=https://www.thestranger.com/music/2016/03/09/23679384/baby-im-for-reel-unspooling-the-affordable-accessible-microeconomy-of-the-cassette-revival |access-date=14 August 2023 |publisher=TheStranger}}</ref> and a nostalgic fondness for how the format's imperfections lend greater vibrancy to low-fi, experimental music, despite the lack of the "full-bodied richness" of vinyl.<ref name=Guardian3.29.10/><ref name=Pitchfork /><ref name=TheStranger />