It’s cool to spool again as the cassette returns on a wave of nostalgia

That quote is awful. Showing contempt for a product is pure shallow consumerism. I really enjoy the technical side of magnetic tapes as well as digital ones and zeros and I like that you can get a real nice listen in 2019 for very little cost by comparison. To suggest it has no place is stupid and irrelevant.

As I said before, it’s no different to the 2012-19 Polaroid revival. It will be niche, focused towards specialists and enthusiasts rather than taking over or replacing the entire market. Polaroid has blossomed in a specialist market, tapes will do likewise as long as parts are available - which in reality means as long as people buy those parts. Both tapes and instant film existed originally before the enormous power of the internet allowed specialist technical information to be shared freely. There will be other product revivals which do the same, and others which never again get a swell of enthusiasm.

 

Each time I go to the local Charity Shops I think "Can Music get any cheaper ?" One I went in was doing four CDs or DVDs for £1 this weekend.

Of course you are very unlikely to find an Ariana Grande CD amongst them.
The question I keep wondering is how do Ariana fans (for example) show their support these days, apart from visiting her website and going to her concerts?

I am sure that many people who buy her cassette which was mentioned in the article will do so simply to show their support and have something tangible to put on their shelf.

Back in the 1980s supporting your favourite artists was similar to supporting a Sports team. You would buy their single as soon as it was released and then eagerly await next weeks Chart Rundown to hear how they had done. Some artists took thing to extremes releasing multiple variations of the same single in different covers. Quite often they might include a poster or in the case of LPs an attractive gatefold sleeve.

This got me researching something I knew nothing about: Disney Skylanders and other similar figures. Whenever, I look in second hand shops like CeX they seem to have a variety for sale at about £7 to £10 each. Of course the Console games themselves have significant second hand value despite often being nothing more than a key to unlock an online game.

So while the Music industry seems to be removing all value from its product the games industry seem to be thriving. An article I read pointed out that if you bought all the Skylander figures it would cost you more than the Console you play them on: Just as it used to be with a Music Player and a decent selection of Music.

 

Maybe he should "learn to do code"...!