Apparently people are really loving cassettes again in 2020
Over the years, the music industry has seen a massive resurgence in physical music sales. Despite the age of streaming we’re currently in, vinyl and cassette sales have skyrocketed in recent years. In 2019, cassette tape sales saw one of its biggest years yet. Now, it looks like 2020 is set to be an even bigger year for cassette tapes.
According to the Official Charts Company, cassette tape sales have more than doubled in 2020.
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This week, the Official Charts Company released new figures on cassette tape sales. The company describes the cassette as “the unlikely comeback kid of music formats” as it reveals there was a 103 percent increase in sales in the first half of 2020. This data is in comparison to the sales figures during the first half of 2019.
According to the data, 65,000 cassettes were purchased in the first half of 2020. This means that sales are set to surpass 100,000 for the first time since 2003. The data also shows that pop music has played a big part in cassette sales this year.
So far, 2020’s best selling cassettes are from 5 Seconds Of Summer, Lady Gaga, the 1975, Selena Gomez and Dua Lipa. 5SOS’s latest album CALM sold 12,000 cassettes in its first week. This feat makes it the fastest-selling cassette in 18 years.
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Although coronavirus forced the closure of various record stores worldwide, Record Store Day 2020 is still scheduled to happen this fall. This year’s event is happening over the course of three days with the first day kicking off on Aug. 29. Music listeners are able to get their hands on limited-edition releases from artists including Fleetwood Mac, Billie Eilish, Bayside, Ice Nine Kills and many more.
Physical albums sales have also been the center of recent changes in the music industry. Earlier this month, Billboard announced that it will no longer include merch and ticket bundles as part of their chart figures. This change will greatly impact album sales for many artists especially those in the pop genre.
What is the most recent cassette tape you purchased? Let us know in the comments below.
