Cassette Sales Skyrocket Over 200% in 2025 While CDs Continue to Decline

Who would have thought that the humble cassette tape—a music format born 60 years ago—would be making a major comeback in 2025? Yet, the numbers don’t lie: cassette sales jumped a staggering 204.7% in the first quarter of this year, reaching over 63,000 units sold. Meanwhile, CD sales quietly slipped down by 2.6%.

Physical Music Makes a Surprising Comeback

This surge in cassette popularity is helping boost overall physical music sales, which grew 5.7% in Q1 2025 — a solid leap from last year’s 2.4% increase. Vinyl remains the undisputed champion, with sales climbing 15.4% to nearly 1.7 million units, marking its 17th consecutive year of growth.

Dr. Jo Twist, CEO of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), shared her excitement with Music Week: “Vinyl continues to defy expectations, and while CD sales are slightly down, physical formats overall are holding strong.” The data, drawn from Official Charts Company reports, signals a surprising reversal after decades of steady decline for physical music.

Gen Z’s Unexpected Love Affair With Cassettes

You might think cassette tapes are a relic, but Generation Z is driving their revival. According to Key Production, nearly 59% of 18- to 24-year-olds are actively listening to physical music formats — and that includes cassettes.

Why the appeal? Nostalgia plays a part, even though most young listeners never lived through the tape era. It’s the tactile experience — holding the cassette, flipping through artwork and liner notes — that streaming services can’t replicate. Music becomes a personal, immersive experience rather than background noise.

Owning music outright also resonates with younger listeners. With streaming, songs can disappear or platforms can shut down without warning, making physical copies a more reliable way to keep your favorite tunes. Plus, cassettes are budget-friendly, more durable than CDs, and a fun way to engage with mixtape culture in an age of algorithms.

New Cassette Players Hit the Market

The cassette comeback hasn’t gone unnoticed by manufacturers. Several companies launched modern cassette players in 2024 and early 2025, blending retro vibes with today’s technology.

Chinese brand FiiO introduced the CP13 player, designed with a copper flywheel to reduce sound distortions common in older devices, and an all-analog audio path to keep the classic sound pure. Meanwhile, French company We Are Rewind launched the stylish WE-001, which adds Bluetooth 5.0, USB connectivity, and wireless headphone support — perfect for modern listeners who want vintage feel without sacrificing convenience.

For home audiophiles, brands like Tascam, TEAC, and Marantz released new cassette decks with advanced features like dual tape recording and USB ports for digitizing old tapes. These upgrades suggest manufacturers believe cassettes aren’t just a fad — they’re here to stay.

Physical Sales Gain Ground as Streaming Growth Slows

Streaming remains king in overall music consumption, but its growth rate has slowed considerably. Streaming climbed 6.6% in Q1 2025, down from 11.3% growth a year earlier. This shift has record labels taking a fresh look at physical formats as a new revenue source.

Major artists are getting in on the action, releasing music on cassettes to appeal to collectors and tap into the trend. Sam Fender topped physical sales charts with “People Watching,” while big names like Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar, and Lady Gaga have also embraced the cassette format.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reports that physical music revenues hit $2 billion last year — a 5% increase from 2023 — thanks largely to vinyl and CDs, but with cassettes emerging as an exciting new player.

Preserving the Past for the Future

Alongside this resurgence, preservation efforts are underway. The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives are racing to digitize fragile cassette recordings before the tapes degrade or players become extinct. Allison Reppert Gerber, who leads the preservation team, calls it “a race against time” to save an important piece of music history.

The return of cassettes — alongside steady vinyl growth — suggests that the music world’s future will be a blend of digital convenience and cherished physical formats. Whether it’s the warm crackle of tape or the sleek swipe of a streaming app, music lovers today seem to want the best of both worlds.