Cassette Tapes: The Birth, Rise, Fall and Comeback??

 

First it was vinyl, and now it’s cassettes that all the cool kids want, as nostalgia takes over the music world.

It seems both those brought up with endless streaming options and those of a certain vintage who remember them with affection are returning to the humble cassette, helped by the once ubiquitous Sony Walkman appearing in hit movies and tv series.

Sales in both the U.S. and U.K. have hit new highs, with apocalypse series The Last of Us the most recent to bring retro chic to the cassette.

The total number of sales have risen from 3,823 in 2012 to more than 195,000 in 2022 and still growing in 2024. 

The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks have been big wins in every sense, but they’ve sold exceptionally well when looking at one specific format–one which many assumed was dead until not too long ago.

According to Billboard, using data shared by Luminate, Guardians of the Galaxy was a massive seller on cassettes in the U.S. in 2023. In fact, it wasn’t just one soundtrack from the franchise that did well, but all of them–even those that have been out for many years now. 

The first Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, titled Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, ranks as the bestselling album on cassette in the U.S. in 2023. According to Billboard, the set sold another 18,000 copies in the past tracking year. 

One more album released from the series, titled Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Mix, Vol. 1, lands at No. 8 on this year-end list. The effort sold 6,000 copies–just one-third of what the project that started it all managed during the same timeframe.

Aside from the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks, the only other name who managed a pair of bestselling cassettes in America last year was Taylor Swift. Her 1989 (Taylor’s Version) lands in the runner-up rung, and not by much. That recent release sold 17,500 copies on the format, and performed much, much better when looking at CDs and vinyl. The pop and country star also appears at No. 5 with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with 11,500 copies sold.

Amazingly, the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks don’t feature a bevy of new hits from superstars, as is the case with the Barbie album (which lands at No. 9 with 5,500 copies sold). Instead, they’re compilations flush with decades-old singles that the masses can’t get enough of. While most of those tunes have been widely available for many years, the combination of putting them all together into one playlist and the love for the franchise seemed to be enough to spur sales.