The Rise of Cassettes

Bryan shared a rather interesting piece from Uproxx on the rise of cassettes. The article covers the fact that vinyl sales have been on the rise but the financial commitment and manufacturing times make it very difficult for indies to constantly churn them out. The cassette, as odd as it may seem, enters as an affordable alternative. I think the primary point regarding the success for the format can be summarized in this quote from Dan Goldin, owner of Exploding in Sound Records:

"A band that plays a lot of shows, in our experience, sells a lot of tapes," he says. "It's little commitment to buy a $5 tape that you can fit in your pocket versus a $15 record."

Jessi Frick, of Father/Daughter Records, even theorizes that most people buying physical formats don't even listen to them, they're just buying the items to support the artist and have a representation of their tastes.

I can't disagree with any of the above. Vinyl is expensive and I think fans want to support the artist but may not have $15-$20 to do so. I'm not opposed to cassettes and have made a few myself but I would hope that any physical item that gets produced is done so with the intention of being fawned over, adored and listened to. I'm sure neither Frick or Goldin are truly convinced otherwise but if you just want to support an artist, why not buy the digital download?

TLDR: putting out records is hard.