While people are rarely buying actual albums these days, it turns out more people seem to be interested in cassette tapes. According to Nielsen Music, cassette tape sales rose by 23% last year, climbing from 178,000 copies in 2017 to 219,000 in 2018.
Now that doesn’t seem like a lot of copies, but in comparison, back in 2014 only 50,000 cassettes were sold.
So, what’s with the resurgence? Well, apparently the “Guardians of the Galaxy” albums have made them popular. In fact, “Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1” was the best-selling cassette last year with 24,000 copies, while “Vol. 2” sold 19,000 copies, making it the second-most popular cassette. So, Best Buy doesn't even sell CDs anymore, but they DO sell VINYL albums...and, with this news, probably cassettes. Can't wait till 8-tracks make a comeback......
Check out the top ten selling cassettes of 2018 below:
- Soundtrack, “Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1”
- Soundtrack, “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Awesome Mix Vol. 2”
- “Trench,” Twenty One Pilots
- Soundtrack,” Stranger Things: Music From the Netflix Original Series”
- “…Baby One More Time,” Britney Spears
- Soundtrack, :Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Mix, Vol. 1”
- “Appetite for Destruction,” Guns N' Roses
- “The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited,” Metallica
- “Where No One Stands Alonem,” Elvis Presley
- “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers),” Wu-Tang Clan
Source: Billboard