Conclusion

Abstract

This chapter considers the revival of cassette releases in the 2000s and 2010s. Although annual cassette sales still amount to only a few hundred thousand units, such figures say nothing of the feelings newly invested in the format. Cassettes have become a refuge from the daunting plenitude of online music, with devotees dwelling on their craftlike production and surrendering themselves to their analog temporality. Even the audible distortion that accrues from the cassette's notorious fragility has become a source of aesthetic value among fans. The cassette's material and acoustic distinctiveness combined with its limited-edition exclusivity have fueled a collector's market to rival that of vinyl, even as doubters question whether the format has any practical place in a mediascape of readily accessible digital music.