Cassette tapes were introduced in August of 1963 by Lou Ottens of Philips Company and released in the U.S. in 1964. Cassette tapes are small spools of magnetic film used to store information, allowing audio recording and playback. It lasted 10-30 years at its peak.
They provided people with an easy way to make their own recordings, and they were really popular with music. They are a very transportable alternative to the pretty immobile vinyl. Pre-recorded music cassettes hit the market soon after and eventually found their way into vehicles in the late 1960s.
In total, over 3 billion tapes were sold worldwide between 1963 and 1988.
A precursor to the VHS, or video home system, as they are essentially cassette tapes, music centers were home stereo systems for those who wanted to show off their cassette collection in their own home. They were extremely popular, leading to the sharing of favorite music, leading to the growth of the music industry, and allowing others to find their new favorite tunes.
In 1979, the Sony Walkman was released, instead of a loudspeaker, it came equipped with headphones. They were also playback only, with no recording option. The personal use idea became a big hit at the time and the public ran with it. The recording Walkman became popular with reporters, as they weren’t used for music purposes.
Bootlegging, or piracy, of music, became an incredibly common practice. People could record vinyl records from their friends or rent out a vinyl song from a library, essentially stealing them.
This led to the “home taping is killing music” movement. There was an argument that it was helping music, as it allowed people to discover new bands and songs much easier. People would eventually buy records anyways and attend concerts.
A culture that first arrived during the cassette tape days is still a common problem today, with more than just songs (movies, tv shows, video games, etc.) being pirated.
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