While I was wandering in the cd store today I saw a bin of new cassette tapes for $2 each or three for $5, factory sealed. I never even give cassettes a second look anymore. I pushed a couple around and saw (of course) Purple Rain, but what stuck out was the Prince/Prince cassette, D&P with the hologram on the front, and the three cassette package of Emanicipation. These three (or 5) would be $5. I didn't think much about it, in this digital age we live in, until I remembered back when I was high into collecting and had to had everything Prince. That meant even all of the issued 8-track tapes (preferably sealed). I couldn't play 8-track tapes, didn't even own a player. Still needed them for the collection. I also remembered that Madhouse and Jill Jones cds were once in the clearence $2 section.

In 10 years, when there are no cassettes to be found, will they become an item that is as hard to find as a cd longbox? Will anybody even care? Will the die-hards that are completists (like me) have to have all of the issed cassettes (preferably sealed, untouched by grubby human hands)? As an adult, I can't believe that in my lifetime I have seen the demise of the 8-track, LP, 45, cassette, the longbox, the 3" cd, the vcd, the picture disc, the laserdisc and almost the VHS & 12" record. There are some promos of those here in NY still (whew!)

How time flies. Needless to say, I had to pick them up for $5 and just tuck them away. I left Purple Rain. Who knows where we will be in ten years? I have 2 Nephews (5 & 7) who don't even know what cassettes are. They also have never seen Michael Jordan play basketball. That seems so wrong.

When you go the (i still say record store) do you shuffle through the cassettes???

jthad1129 said:

Well they should consider themselves lucky they didn't witness him ruin the Wizards. Not only was he not good he lowered the play of the players around him. Worst comeback ever.

lovemachine said:

you can buy old records on Ebay for $1.00 a dozen, same with 8-tracks. I'm sure they'll be worthless for quite some time.

savoirfaire said:

I was talking about Prince ones in particular, were you?

I love cassettes! I've got heaps of em. Prince takes up a whole rack and a half of my cassette collection.

lovemachine said:

Missed my point totally

Will Madonna be remembered for American Life?

Will Prince be remembered for Musicology?

Another reason I have not posted in so long

Personally, I wouldn't invest in cassettes...CD's are too easy to skip right to the track that
you LOVE...

No one's bum rushin' the 8 track owners.

I do the same thing. They are so cheap I can't help myself. Especially if it is Prince. I don't think they will ever be worth too much if/when you try to sell them, and I really don't even like the sound quality. But that doesn't matter, I don't even take the plastic off of them anyway. As a collector, I think the cassettes are important to have.

Oh, I forgot to ask. This is where being young makes me sound stupid. What is a cd longbox?

jthad1129 said:

No, but Prince records are also equally cheap.

collectability (and the high prices that follow) flows from limited supply and high demand. There are still tons of copies of 1999 and Purple Rain floating around on vinyl and cassette, so they're unlikely to ever have much value. Even a rare cassette (eg. a Japanese cassette with rare bonus tracks) likely wouldn't be worth as much as a vinyl version since the format is not particularly treasured by collectors and audiophiles.

Cassettes will never be valuable... they're just not 'collectable' (unlike vinyl or CD).
The only cassettes that are worth anything are the ones where there was no equivalent
vinyl or CD release (like 'Jam Of The Year NYC Live' or the 'P Control' promo).

lovemachine said:

Um, yeah that's a pretty silly statement on every level, the wizards sucked before he was hired and after he left. They were in a playoff hunt both yrs he was the most of the seasons. That sounds like the statement of a poser (without league pass) who just want to repeat what he heard someone else say to sound in the know....

Ok anyway I think cassettes will be kind of like 8-tracks, some people would want them just for the hell of it.

kdj997 said:

I'm not a poser. I have a very high NBA interest as I follow two teams intensly (Bucks and Timberwolves) and NEVER miss their games and I can without question say that Jordan sucked in his comeback. They were below 500 both seasons and the young players did not develop at all. When he came back he said this was his main intention...funny....he took away their minutes (paticularly in crunchtime) and they didn't develop at all. I could go on and on about it but it's a waste of time because everyone knows the comeback was a failure except for from a finanacial standpoint (moreso in the first year).

Jordan and his ego is a poison and the greatest thing that ever happened to my team is when the good Senator changed his mind and didn't sell to him.