I guess if this happened, it would have been during the 8-bit home computer revolution of the 1980s. Software was widely distributed on cassette tape (sounded like an analogue modem - probably because it used similar methods of representing the data).
Obviously cassette tapes were read-write on consumer equipment, which vinyl was not, but still, there’s enough of an overlap between the first lifetime of vinyl and the time when software was sold in audio formats.
So… was there ever a commercial software release that was deployed on vinyl records?
I’ve never heard of it. When people were making media, they were copying the methods used for mainframe computers at the time, which were usually tape or honking big magnetic disks.
Vinyl was read-only and there was no reason to include a read-only drive when a read-write drive was far more useful.
I was flabbergasted at the question, but when I actually read the post, I must admit that your logic is sound.
By my memory, little or no software was mass-produced and distributed by cassette tape. The tapes were generally made by the users themselves as a way of storing programs and data on a day-to-day basis.
Even if some (or much) software was indeed distributed by cassette, consider how much easier it is to create tape as compared to vinyl. Vinyl doesn’t become profitable until a significant number have been made and sold, but tape is much cheaper. It’s almost like comparing distribution of music via mp3 on email vs. cassette tapes.
I seem to recall reading about a flex vinyl record that was included in one of the old computer hobbyist magazines (you were supposed to play it back into the audio in cassette port, as it was modulated the same way). I can’t seem to find a reference right now, though.
I found this, but it looks like it may be more of a nostalgia thing:
As one who has been working with computers in one form or another since the late 1960’s, I can say with 95+ percent confidence that no software was released on vinyl discs, for the reasons stated above, plus the fact that no computers I’m aware of ever had a turntable interface.
Even if the computer had an audio input connection for a cassette tape drive, you couldn’t just plug a turntable into that because the levels and impedance would not match. You would need to get a special pre-amp for the phono output.
Before floppy discs were invented, I suppose some software, especially for the home market was distributed on cassette tapes, but most commercial software was produced on 9 track reel to reel tapes, punched cards, or punched paper tape.
There was quite a lot of it in the 80s, for home computers such as Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, etc. Many software houses were born at this time.
True. I was going to say that copy-protection was quite high on the agenda for some software houses during the 8-bit era, but actually, copying vinyl to cassette was probably easier for many than copying one cassette to another - fewer people had double cassette decks in their home audio setup than had turntable plus cassette.
It was just the headphone output. Home ‘HiFi’ sets usually had one - with a switch to allow the user to choose between cassette, turntable or tuner. This was quite a common setup (at least it was here in the UK at the time) - and would have worked.
IIRC software was sometimes distributed by radio—a computer data cassette would be played on air, with listeners being instructed to record the data stream to their own cassette decks. So it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that software could have been distributed on vinyl, with the intention of the user recording it to cassette and then feeding the cassette into their computer’s drive. The only advantage of this method of distribution is that it would be easier to do so through the mail—thin flexi discs are easier to put in envelopes than thick, rigid, brittle cassette tapes.
I’m not 100% sure on this, as I don’t think I ever bothered to try myself, but I don’t think simply doing an direct audio copy from one tape (or LP) to another would have worked.
The hobbyist tape storage was very primitive. Most systems used the Kansas City standard, which was pretty dreadful. I needed to look up the exact specs, and guess what I found?
And well, the answer to the OP is yes. The wikipedea page for the Kansas City standard has a picture of exactly that, a floppy vinyl record with software on it in a magazine, termed a Floppy ROM.
Yeah, it did - I was a bit of a junior software pirate in my ZX Spectrum days. There was often a bit of trial and error over the recording levels, but most of the 8-bit software released on cassette was easy to copy.
Later on, they started introducing clever copy protection based on fluctuations of volume, tone, etc, but even these didn’t make it impossible.
Since the question has been asked and answered, here’s another:
Did anybody ever make a computer data interface for the VHS videocassette?
Like the audiocassette, it was a ubiquitous analog format. Since it was designed to record video, it would have much higher storage capacity than the audio cassette.
No, it wouldn’t be as convenient as floppy disks - but has that ever stopped a hobbyist?
Perhaps not exactly what the OP had in mind, but I remember a pop single in the 80s that had a small bit of home computer digital software code at the end.
