Music News: Cassette Tapes Are Making a Comeback – Sales Up 103% Since January
Are cassette tapes the new vinyl? New statistics from the Official Charts company show that cassette tape sales have sky-rocked – up 103% since January of this year. The company states that cassettes may be, “the unlikely comeback kid of music formats.”
Some of the top-selling cassettes of the year include Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Ozzy Osbourne, The Strokes, Tame Impala, and Dua Lipa. Vinyl and CD sales have also surged since the re-opening of record stores (post lockdown). “Overall, physical sales accounted for 19.1% of the overall albums market across the past week, a three-month high” (nme.com). This is great news for musicians, who make more money off of physical sales than through streaming royalties.
About the come-back, Glass Animals drummer Joe Seaward told NME, “People are watching old TV shows, films and listening to old music. I think that might be partly to do with why the cassette is having a bit of a resurgence […] We’ll have to wait and see.”
Do you listen to cassettes? Comment below.
Cover Photo:
@loravisuals on unsplash.com
