Blog Post #5- EOTO (Cassette Tapes!)

 Communication technologies have evolved immensely over the past century, and even further back than that. Not every communication technology is something like a radio or the cell phone. It's important to consider all different types of this technology and their impacts. A technology that has practically been completely replaced is the cassette tape. One of the first audio recording technologies, the cassette tape, dates back to the 1960s. It completely changed the way that people record and listen to audio today, but not before going through developments of its own. 

First, we must discuss the history of the cassette tape to understand how it became what it is today. Although these tapes seem ancient compared to the technology of phones and other recording technologies, they were actually very revolutionary for audio technology. In the early 1960s, Lou Ottens worked with a team at Philips to create a tape cartridge that could record audio on it. 

The EL 1903 was the first functional model that they presented at a radio show. It was capable of recording sixty minutes of audio, thirty minutes on each side of the tape. People would try to use these models to record music and other audios, but they were not adequate enough. New versions of cassette tapes were made as the years progressed, mostly changing the materials used to make the tapes, improving output levels. Eventually, cassette tapes started being used for music and the innovations being made were a reflection of that.

Cassette tapes were sold blank; there was no audio to play back already on the tapes. This means that you could record basically anything you wanted. People would record song after song onto cassette tapes, the first version of a 'playlist'! This was an incredible advancement for audio technologies and public access to them. Not only were these tapes convenient, they were also easily accessible. Anybody could record anything onto these tapes and without the hassle of more complicated technologies. However, the appeal of being able to listen to music without having to record sixty minutes worth was too strong. 

Companies started selling pre-recorded cassette tapes, but they were still not good enough quality to compare to record players. As new improvements were made, the possibility of listening to good quality music on the go became more and more of a reality. When the Sony Walkman released, listening to music on the go became extremely popular. The sound quality had increased greatly and finding music recorded on cassette tapes was much more common. It was the first time you could listen to music and it was actually good! In my eyes, cassette tapes were the first IPods. 

These cassette tapes had a bigger impact than people give credit for. If it weren't for the innovation of the cassette tape, the way we record audio and listen to music today may be completely different or not even exist. The original invention was a way for anyone to record any audio. Each improvement brought something different, including the inventions that came for listening to these tapes such as the Sony Walkman. Although people say that cassette tapes have died and been wiped out by new audio tech, it is important to remember the roots of our listening technology.