Cassette tapes sales reach 20-year peak
Sales of cassette tapes have reached a 20-year peak. The format’s popularity has been growing for several years now, but this recent surge is being driven by high-selling releases from the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Harry Styles.
A recent survey from The British Phonographic Industry found that cassette tape sales have been rising year on year for the last decade. In 2012, just 3,823 cassettes were sold. By 2022, that annual figure had risen to 195,000. However, the format is still not quite as popular as vinyl.
The best-selling cassette album of the year was Arctic Monkeys’ The Car, which was released in October 2022. Harry’s House by pop singer Harry Styles followed in second place. Florence + The Machine’s Dance Fever was also among the biggest-selling cassette releases, coming in third.
Other artists to make the top ten include Machine Gun Kelly, Blackpink, Robbie Williams, Central Cee and Muse. Interestingly, the Top 20 highest-selling cassette albums of the year were all new releases. Speaking to Sky News, Paul Williams of the British Phonographic Industry said: “Not long ago, people would have written off the cassette, but I think you have to learn the lessons of the vinyl market which had an incredible revival.” [quotes via The Independent].
He added: “What we’ve noticed with the cassette market – the cassettes and the artists that are doing well are artists with real fan bases.”
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