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Blast from the past: Cassette player prices surge amid comeback
Nostalgia boom gives tapes another moment in the sun


Sony's cassette players once dominated the global industry in the analog days. (Photo by Takuro Hosoda)
TAKURO HOSODA, Nikkei staff writerAugust 28, 2022 01:15 JST

TOKYO -- Music lovers nostalgic for the faint hissing and crackling of cassette tapes have sent the price of vintage players soaring, with some now going for five times as much as a decade ago.

Sony first launched the Walkman TPS-L2, a cassette player considered the world's first portable music device, back in 1979. Originally priced at 33,000 yen, those in good condition now sell for around 50,000 to 100,000 yen ($365 to $730).

"Even ones that are junk regularly go for around 30,000 yen," said a representative at BuySell Technologies, a Tokyo-based company that sells a wide range of pre-owned products.

A decade ago, original Walkmans in working condition commanded around 10,000 yen to 20,000 yen. Prices have increased roughly fivefold because there are now fewer of them in circulation, and there are "many fans who like the culture of bringing cassette players around," the representative said.

Cassette players became widely available in the 1970s, initially in the form of boomboxes. Mobile players became more popular in the 1980s after the Walkman was released. Though the players later lost ground to CDs, demand has surged in the last few years, particularly among those nostalgic for the characteristic hiss they produced.

Cassette players largely sold for around 5,000 yen to 7,000 yen in 2019, but have been selling for over 9,000 yen so far this year, according to online auction platform Aucfan. Many of the buyers are older men with more disposable income to spend on their hobbies.

Some are collecting rare items from overseas. Tokyo-based Beenos said cassette players on Sekaimon, its cross-border e-commerce platform, have been selling for 24,000 yen on average this year, around 50% more than in 2021.

The buyers on average were 45 years old, and 90% were men. Those who bought vintage players in particular were 55 on average.

Several companies still make cassette players. But modern models are plastic and lightweight.

"Fans who are drawn to the weight of steel tend to prefer vintage players," said Tomohiro Takeno at Lawson Entertainment, which operates record and cassette tape stores.


Cassette tapes have become a source of nostalgia for middle-age to elderly people.

Overseas cassette enthusiasts unable to come to Japan because of the coronavirus pandemic have also been snapping up items on the secondary market online.

"Because the yen is so weak right now, foreign fans are getting high-quality players at bargain prices," said electronics collector Junichi Matsuzaki.

Matsuzaki says he now has roughly 5,000 secondhand boomboxes and other devices from around the world, sourced through his own channels. He says has received requests from foreign aficionados to sell his entire collection.

"The analog boom is further along overseas than in Japan," he said.

Sales of cassette tapes in the U.S. doubled last year to over 340,000, the highest total since 2015, according to entertainment data company Luminate. Artists popular among young listeners, such as Billie Eilish and Harry Styles, have released music on cassette.

In Japan, vinyl records are experiencing a greater comeback. Although cassettes are easy to carry around, the magnetic tape itself becomes degraded with use, making cassettes poor candidates for secondhand distribution in the digital age.

In recent years, well-known music artists such as B'z and Tatsuro Yamashita have released music on tapes, but the tape revival is still in its infancy.

"Compared to records, there is far fewer new music" on tapes, said Takeno. "New music will determine the future popularity of tapes."

Jeez ,, I brought a box of CDs and DVDs here with me and a Bose accustic wave radio , I
had a portable player but it got lost or stoled and never replaced . Now i still got all that but no way to play
I would love to sell the Bose ( got another Bose Blutooth speaker but battery is useless plays plugged in
I would advertise as free but nobody will appreciate anything free ..
now I got iTunes ,, so who knows what will happen when i die