English pop rock band The 1975 and breakout artist Billie Eilish have helped cassette tape sales reach a 15 year high.
The 1975’s album A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships has sold 8,000 copies in cassette tapes, being the highest selling cassette of the decade, with 7,000 of those sales being from the very first week of release. Eilish’s When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? falls close behind with 4,000 copies sold, however still receiving the tentative title of highest cassette sold this year.
The boost of sales can possibly be attributed to vintage collector’s desire for the old school medium. Though these sales may be reaching record highs, the British Phonographic Industry reports that cassette sales only account for 0.2{e737569ce34d038afefa34d3daed4c053e44b65c5b6ef70753feedd706ace792} of the album market, with a majority of sales coming from streaming and downloads.
Some of the other top sellers of the decade include Kylie Minogue’s Golden and the soundtracks from both Guardians of the Galaxy films.
The 1975’s 2018 album saw the fastest selling cassette since July of 2002, and the highest cassette sales in the UK since 2004.
Photos: Getty
