The year is 2025, and something remarkable is taking place with music. Vinyl’s big recovery is ongoing, but an equally old-school form of audio is also catching up.
Cassette tapes are back—big time—but it’s not just boomers and millennials powering this resurgence. There is a whole movement behind this retro tech, and more companies and artists than ever are responding in kind.
We’ve had a heap of top artists release new albums on cassette in 2025, with some beautiful dedicated portable cassette players, too. So, what gives? Why is the tech we left behind in the 90s back with such force, and more importantly, is it actually even worth listening to?
Cassettes are back, and artists are embracing it
You can listen to some of 2025’s biggest albums on cassette
Sabrina Carpenter. Taylor Swift. Dave. Deftones. Pulp.
These are just five of the artists and bands that have released their latest albums on cassette in 2025. It’s a modernization of retro tech that we thought was long dead, though in reality, cassettes never went away. It was a similar story in 2024, too, with Swift, Charli XCX, Twenty One Pilots, Chappell Roan, and other artists all releasing new music on tape.
It’s not just vibes, either. The stats back up cassette’s remarkable rise back to the mainstream. In May 2025, Headphonesty reported that cassette sales jumped more than 200 percent in the first quarter of 2025, selling more than 63,000 units (up from around 20,000).
The sentiment is echoed across the web. SEM Rush registered 33,000 searches for the keywords “cassette player” and “cassette tape” in the past month (October – November 2025), while Google Trends shows the terms “cassette” and “cassette tape” barely dipping under 75 for most of 2025. There is even a boost to 100 during 20-26 July!
One generation is leading the revival
Retro tech or rejection of streaming services?
It’s not those who were there at the time yearning for the past, mind. Nostalgia plays a part, no doubt, but a different generation is buying more retro physical music than any other: Gen Z.
Speaking to Headliner Hub, Alex Tadros, owner of the last cassette shop in the UK, explained that Gen-Z are his biggest customers.
Most of our customers are under 30; they buy their first cassette players through us and come back regularly to update their collections. Gen Z love the physical and fashionable element of tapes. Retro tech and trends are everywhere in popular culture, widening interest in forgotten formats. When the last season of Stranger Things came out, we instantly sold all our Iron Maiden tapes. For millennials and Gen X, tapes give them the chance to re-live some of their childhood interests.
There have been a few cultural touchstones to push people back towards the hissing and popping associated with cassettes.
The vinyl resurgence of the 20s has been huge, and it’s natural that people begin to wonder what other retro music tech they can still use. Indeed, a 2023 Luminate study found that more than 50 percent of people who bought vinyl that year didn’t even own a player; it’s for the aesthetic and the vibes.
Then there are moments like Stranger Things Season 4, where Sadie Sink’s character, Max, is only saved by listening to Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill on repeat on her trusty Walkman. Or Guardians of the Galaxy, where Star Lord (Chris Pratt) treasures his Walkman amid the wild encounters.
Social media trends also play a part. TikTok trends like “retro-core” and “90’s-core” frequently show cassettes, cassette players, tapes, and similar items as core to the aesthetic. People love the general design of the era, and of course, all fashion and design is cyclical.
And then there is the general feeling that, at times, media consumption should feel more specific. Streaming platforms are all very well and good, and I’m not suggesting Gen Z is abandoning them (all the stats say the opposite), but purposeful engagement with content often leads to a deeper, more meaningful connection.
Ownership of music is something that’s been lost in the streaming era, and having something physical changes that relationship.
Related
I Love Vinyl, but There Are 4 Key Reasons I Stick With Spotify
I’ll never stop collecting vinyl, but sometimes, Spotify is just what I need.
Cassettes need something to play in, right?
Manufacturers are also capturing the retro-essence
Credit: Amazon
Another key part of the equation is the cassette players themselves, and they all tie into the “retro-core” aesthetic. Well, mostly.
We are Rewinds’s portable cassette player has a clean, modern style with some retro flair. By that, I mean it’s styled to be retro and has taken some inspiration from the iconic Sony Walkman TPS-L2, but its ultra-clean lines and colorways betray it a little.
I’m not complaining, mind. It looks great, and comes with some mod-cons like Bluetooth, an integrated rechargeable battery, and a recording function.
Credit: Amazon
Then there is the super popular FiiO CP13 portable cartridge player, which I think hits the old-school cassette player style with more accuracy. Visually, it’s less polished than We are Rewind, but that makes it more appealing to me; it’s much closer to the cassette players I remember.
Of course, you don’t have to buy a modern unit. You can find original cassette players and decks on eBay and other reselling platforms. Just watch out for the knock-offs and so-called “Walkman-style” cassette players. They may not be bad, but they’re definitely not going to be up to the same standard.
Alternatively, you could head to Goodwill or a thrift store and have a rummage around. Or scroll through eBay until you find the real thing, but be prepared for some of the prices for “real retro”—I found an original Sony Walkman TPS-L2 going for just shy of 600 bucks, which is just wild.
It’s not a uniform sound, and that’s the difference
There is no single reason why cassettes are suddenly surging, and no specific example for why Gen Z is apparently leading that charge. But there is one real consideration that helps explain why people are looking backwards when it comes to audio, including vinyl: unique sound.
For example, there are several different types of tape, made by different manufacturers. They use different processes to achieve the standard cassette format that we know, giving each type of tape a specific sound.
So, each tape will slot into your tape player, but it won’t produce the same sound. Then there is the wear and tear that comes with repetitive plays and winding back the tape, along with the slight distortions and imperfections that let you know the music you’re listening to belongs to you.
It’s more alive, engaging, and enchanting than firing up Spotify or Apple Music and hitting play and letting the algorithm go to work—it’s something streaming services can never capture.
