EOTO COMM TECH LINE - CASSETTE TAPES

The Cassette Tape was a very important invention/innovation back in the 1960's. Back when vinyl was very popular, there wasn't exactly an easy way to play your music on the go, as vinyl was very large and quite immobile. But thanks to a man who worked for Philips Company named Lou Ottens, that problem was solved in 1963. I will not only talk about its impacts, but its positives and negatives as well.

The Cassette Tape was a revelational object that would inspire many inventions, innovations, and practices (both good and bad) that would follow over the next half century. Small spools of magnetic film would store information inside a Cassette Tape, allowing for storage of audio. People could record their own audio, save it, and play it back, allowing for mobile music functionality. The Cassette Tapes eventually found their way into vehicles as a radio system, which is something all cars today come with, even if you don't notice it at first (cd's, bluetooth, etc.).

Cassette Tapes grew very fast in popularity, and were popular for quite a long time until newer technology pushed them to irrelevance. From their release in 1963 to 1988, over three billion tapes were sold worldwide. They were so popular mostly because it allowed people to bring their music with them. They could share it with their friends and family, giving the possibility of jamming out wherever you wanted. It allowed those to find their new favorite songs or bands. Eventually, the market started selling pre-recorded Cassette Tapes of songs and albums. Cassette Tapes changed music drastically, for better and for worse. 

As Cassette Tapes became more and more prevalent in every day media culture, a new practice arose that is still controversial to this day. Media pirating, or the stealing of online media became a widespread practice that many had strong opinions on. While there was no "online" back in the day, people could still find ways to steal music. Those could record others pre-recorded music on to their Cassette Tape. Another way was going to the library, renting out a vinyl record, playing it, recording it and then returning the vinyl. People were finding ways to steal music, and it led to the "home tape is killing music" movement. However, many argued that it allowed people to find new music and bands much easier, and they would eventually buy their albums and go to concerts anyways. Regardless, its still something you can find today (more likely with tv shows and movies) that is highly illegal.

One of the biggest positive breakthroughs related to the Cassette Tape was the Sony Walkman in 1977. While it wasn't an idea that needed a genius to invent/innovate, it was one of the best ideas of a generation. A Cassette Tape with its own pair of headphones, allowing those to listen to their music personally in public or wherever they were. People ran with the idea, almost literally. While there typically wasn't any recording functionality on these, you could buy them pre-recorded with music and audio. The Sony Walkman walked (no pun intended that time) so the MP3 player could run. The Cassette Tape was a marvelous invention, and its contributions to culture and society should never be forgotten.