Now Available on Cassette—Again: Record Retailer Experiences of Current Cassette Tape Sales

Abstract

Cassette tape album sales have increased 23% in 2018 to 219,000 cassettes sold, according to a January 2019 Billboard report citing Nielsen Music figures. This continued interest in the cassette has found retailers stocking their shelves with the format, some for the first time and others after a long absence. The study provides a more current understanding of music cassette tape sales from record retailers’ perspectives. This qualitative study utilizes twenty-four in-depth, semi-structured interviews with retail employees to better illustrate and comprehend reasons behind the upward trajectory in cassette sales. The insight of participants from fifteen different U.S. states ultimately generated four primary themes: customer profiles, customer preferences, sales experiences, and future sales. Findings included that cassette customers hailed from a younger demographic, playback persisted due to new product availability, cultures formed in certain locales, and most retailers were optimistic about future sales of the format.