TORONTO 鈥� Tyson Wiebe firmly believes the audio cassette hasn鈥檛 been played out.
Many, many years after most music fans tossed their tapes in the trash, the Lethbridge, Alta., musician got behind the dated format in a big way 鈥� by forming an independent record label intent on resurrecting the once-loved cassette.
Through production runs of 100 copies, Wiebe hopes to convince more homegrown artists that releasing tapes makes sense in 2017. He sees it as a way for musicians to stand apart in the age of streaming music, and get more people to actually play a full album.
鈥淚t sounds great to us and it鈥檚 a lot more inexpensive than doing something like vinyl,鈥� the founder of Norwegian Blue Records says.
鈥淵ou go to any indie rock show right now, anybody worth their salt is starting to put a tape out.鈥�
As both physical and digital sales dwindled last year in Canada, sales of cassettes were surprisingly on the upswing.
About 7,000 tapes were bought in 2016, which represented a year-over-year spike of 79 per cent, according to Nielsen Music Canada. While it鈥檚 not a huge volume, the figure was enough to give some in the music industry a shred of hope for a new revenue stream.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a touring band you need something that can get you to the next town,鈥� says Wiebe. 鈥淔or us it鈥檚 huge.鈥�
For some listeners, the lo-fi format never really died.
Punk and hardcore music fans, in particular, clung onto cassettes saying the format鈥檚 audio hisses and distortion gave texture to songs.
But a few years ago, the cassette began to make its way beyond the fringes of the music scene.
Marvel鈥檚 2014 summer blockbuster 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy鈥� helped drag the tape back into the conversation with a soundtrack of classic rock hits that topped the charts. Helped by a special cassette release designed to look like a throwback mixtape, it became the top-selling tape in both 2015 and 2016 in the United States.
Whether people were actually listening to the tapes isn鈥檛 so clear.
One of the biggest hurdles in embracing the cassette trend is finding a way to play them. Decades of decluttering have left many households without a good player. Few hung on to their Walkman, the smaller portable players that were once so commonplace.
Some bands question the merits of encouraging fans to go backwards to a technology that many listeners considered faulty in the first place. Cassettes were hindered by problems like wearing out, getting eaten by tape decks and melting in hot cars.
Vancouver rockers Japandroids raised an eyebrow when their former record label pushed out their albums 鈥淧ost-Nothing鈥� and 鈥淐elebration Rock鈥� on tape.
鈥淚 think we both found it a bit baffling,鈥� admits drummer David Prowse.
But his bandmate Brian King fondly recalls some fans enjoying the initial novelty.
鈥淧eople wanted them, or at least some people did,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not exactly sure 鈥� if they鈥檙e actually listening to them.鈥�
But Japandroids were never really committed to the cassette鈥檚 revival and when they signed to Arts & Crafts for their latest album, manufacturing a tape wasn鈥檛 even discussed as a possibility.
Other indie labels have seized the opportunity, including Toronto-based Dine Alone Records, which is one of the country鈥檚 most enthusiastic tape supporters. Dozens of their artists have albums on tape, including City and Colour, the Sheepdogs and Alexisonfire.
Canadian indie musician Ty Trumbull experienced mixed results after buying into the early revival of tapes back in 2014. Looking to drive sales at his live shows, he says the low overhead costs made it easy to sell cassettes for an affordable $5 at the merchandise table.
He was confident that 鈥淧ull the Cork,鈥� the 2014 album with his band Scoop Trumbull & The Wrong Notes, would he a surefire hit. But sales were volatile depending on where in Canada he played.
鈥淭oronto put a bit more value in kitsch things like that,鈥� he says.
鈥淲hen you start touring out to New Brunswick there were less people interested 鈥� you鈥檇 maybe sell one or two.鈥�
Whether there鈥檚 enough interest to keep cassette popularity growing is still uncertain, and early signs suggest the upswing may already be losing stream.
Over the past two months, cassette sales hit a ceiling and haven鈥檛 recovered. Sales volumes have dropped 33 per cent so far this year, with only 400 tapes sold across the country by the second week of February. That鈥檚 about 200 fewer copies versus this time last year.
There鈥檚 also a catch to the recent sales renaissance.
Like vinyl records, many cassettes are packaged with download codes that let anyone enjoy the music on their computer or phone.
Critics say that鈥檚 falsely propped up the popularity of the format, and suggest that many tapes are just trendy, ironic bedroom decor for teenagers.
Tom Howie, half of Vancouver-raised electronic duo Bob Moses, isn鈥檛 betting on tapes finding widespread popularity again.
鈥淭he resurgence of cassettes is solely an offshoot of hipster culture,鈥� he says.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a cool marketing strategy. Everyone wants something they can鈥檛 get.鈥�
鈥� David Friend, CP
