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Idiots rejoice! The cassette revival continues

By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 19 April 2023

Gather round one and all, and let’s consider and dwell upon – just for a moment – the ongoing cassette revival. Because who wouldn’t want to see a resurgence of the worst format for music the industry ever embraced? I mean, for a time, cassettes did have the edge when it came to facilitating music piracy, but then CD ripping and subsequently file-sharing meant tapes weren’t even that good for stealing music, let alone listening to it.

But nevertheless, record label trade group BPI has reminded us today that cassette sales in the UK increased again last year. 195,000 units were shifted in 2022, 5.2% more than in 2021. And that’s the most tapes sold in a twelve month period since 2003 when ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ editions 54, 55 and 56 were the bestsellers.

So, cassette revival, woo! Of course, Brits bought 11.6 million CDs and 5.5 million vinyl records last year, and when it comes to revenues cassette sales are decidedly nominal compared to other physical product sales let alone the cash cow that is streaming.

Though, the BPI said this morning, “the format is playing a significant role in the sales mix of some brand new album releases. On ten occasions last year, the format accounted for over 10% of the chart sales of the number one album on the weekly Official Albums Chart”.

And “some of these chart-topping albums sold more copies on cassette than on vinyl when they debuted at number one, including Florence And The Machine’s ‘Dance Fever’ and ‘5SOS5’ by 5 Seconds Of Summer”.

Lovely stuff. So who are these idiots – I mean loyal music fans – picking up the latest releases on good old cassette? Well, who knows.

Though given anecdotal research that says that at least part of the vinyl revival is fuelled by people who don’t actually play the records they buy, meaning they basically treat the discs they purchase like pieces of merch, then why not sell that kind of fan a tape instead? If nothing else, they’re a lot cheaper to produce.

“For many of us growing up, cassettes were a rite of passage as we listened to our favourite artists”, says BPI Chief Strategy Officer and Interim CEO Sophie Jones. “So it’s heartening that this once much-loved format is back in vogue, even if still a tiny part of music consumption overall”.

“Like vinyl, a number of contemporary artists are warmly embracing the cassette as another way to reach audiences and on occasions it has even helped them to achieve a number one album”, she adds. “While streaming is by far the leading format, the renewed popularity of cassettes and vinyl highlights the continuing importance of the physical market and the many ways fans have to consume music”.

Why are the BPI bigging up the cassette revival today, given the top line sales stats were actually released at the start of the year?

Well, partly to plug the trade group’s recently published ‘All About The Music 2023’ yearbook. Partly to remind artists and labels that releasing cassette versions of their albums might generate some extra sales from superfans and provide a useful chart boost. And partly so we can take a moment to celebrate the all-important idiots among the music-buying public.

And now the top ten best selling cassette releases in 2022…

1. Arctic Monkeys – The Car
2. Harry Styles – Harry’s House
3. Florence And The Machine – Dance Fever
4. Muse – Will Of The People
5. Central Cee – 23
6. Robbie Williams – XXV
7. 5 Seconds Of Summer – 5SOS5
8. Blackpink – Born Pink
9. The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
10. Machine Gun Kelly – Mainstream Sellout

This story is discussed on this edition of our Setlist podcast.