# Record labels still making cassettes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740 "2009-10-22T15:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TNWPsycho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@TNWPsycho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TNWPsycho)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740/1 "2009-10-22T15:55:24Z")
This is mainly in the black metal sub-genre, i really haven’t seen (or noticed) record labels making tapes for all genres in this day in age. I recently purchased a copy of Hell Icon’s “In Umbra…” and when i got it i had the unfortunate discovery that it was a cassette! And this thing was released in 2007! The more i looked around the more i noticed black metal bands being released on tape. What is the reason for this? Is there some redeeming audio quality to it (much like records? I guess i don’t remember, when i was growing up tapes were on the way out) I personally emailed Hell Icon to see if there was some reason for this and his reply was. “Most bands who release tapes do this because of lack of funding to make a CD.” Seriously? I can burn and label a CD at my house for $0.25. This is mainly going on in Eastern Europe if that aids in anybodies answers. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740/2 "2009-10-22T16:43:13Z")
I can see it as: We can’t afford to put our stuff on CD as equal to We need the income from our music and if we put it on CD, people will copy it to their computers and put it on the internet. Probably a silly surmisation. But, fact is, though it’s very simple technology, most people today do not have the technology to put an audio tape onto a computer. I’d be hard pressed to come up with a working cassette player - but all I’d need to do is hook a male to male mini-rca jack (and maybe a size adapter to one end) from the players output jack to my PC’s microphone jack or Audio out to audio in if present. But most people wouldnt think to do that. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740/3 "2009-10-22T17:19:08Z")
I think it’s because they’re so metal that they will only record on a metal cassette. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740/4 "2009-10-22T17:52:16Z")
Part of it may do with something called “[Cassette Culture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassette_culture#United_States)” You can duplicate 500 CDs for anywhere from $150.00 to $200.00, so even at the high end, so that’s around 40¢ a CD. (of course that doesn’t figure taxes, shipping, labels etc) ---
**Author:** ![Sebastienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Sebastienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebastienne)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740/5 "2009-10-23T00:29:25Z")
I can maybe imagine some desolate, Toki-Wartooth\*'s-hometown kind of Eastern European village where cassette duplication was easier and cheaper than CDs well after cassettes were phased out in the US, but I’d find it fairly amazing if that was still the case. \*Yes I know he’s not Eastern European, but run with the image. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740/6 "2009-10-23T14:00:59Z")
There have been a couple recent releases of [8 tracks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-track_tape#Last_cartridges) in recent years. The article lists The Melvins and Cheap Trick. There is apparently something about retro tech and harder-style rockers that go together. And yes, CDs were much cheaper to make than cassettes by ~1990 if not earlier. I remember seeing ads in music mags listing prices for various runs and the difference was quite noticable. Which made paying extra for CDs all that much worse. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740/7 "2009-10-23T16:38:31Z")
Beastie Boys have released all of their albums on vinyl, and I’m sure there are other artists near the top of the charts who do so as well. Some genres attract collectors. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/record-labels-still-making-cassettes/514740/8 "2009-10-23T17:13:59Z")
Vinyl makes sense, since (when brand new, at least) it’s the highest sound quality of any of the common media. But cassette tapes are lower quality than vinyl or CDs, less convenient than either, and more expensive than CDs at least.