Tape Cassette Sales On The Rise in 2017 Thanks to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Up until recently, the cassette tape had become a piece of technological history on the brink of extinction. But last year, cassette album sales continued to show growth, and it's all thanks to a little movie called Guardians of the Galaxy. Billboard.com reports that last year, more than 174,000 cassettes were sold, that's up from 2016, where 129,000 were sold. That is still a lot, considering in 2009, 2010 and 2011, cassette album sales didn't even break 35,000.
The 3 top cassette albums sold last year were both soundtracks for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 and the soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy. 22 percent of all cassette album sales in 2017 were generated by those three Guardians albums. Combined, they equaled 39,000 of all cassette album sales in 2017. You can see just how dominant they were in the chart below:
I think it is pretty obvious why those cassettes sold more, besides the fact that each soundtrack is loaded with great music, they also double as a physical prop of Star Lord's personal mixtapes that he uses in both films. I'm pretty sure there is a pretty good chance that most of the cassettes for GOTG sold are sitting unopened on someone's shelf as a decoration.
It's also pretty suiting that the number 4 highest selling cassette album is The Stranger Things, Volume One soundtrack.
It's also pretty rad that more cassettes of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 soundtrack sold more than all the sales for Eminem, Kanye, Prince, Nirvana and Twenty One Pilots combined.
It's also worth noting that Sony's classic Walkman also saw huge spikes in sales during 2017. I mean, come on, you can't have one without the other, right?