FEATURE:
Too Cool to Spool?
Returning to the Sony Walkman: Why Has the Classic Device Not Been Resurrected?
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HAVING watched Stranger Things…
and, as it is set in the 1980s, seeing the Walkman feature, once more I am thinking about the classic device. It seems like this throwback to the 1980s and 1990s when there were limited options for listening to music on the move. Now, anyone with a smartphone can hear music when they want. The sheer excitement of being able to play a cassette or C.D. (with a Discman) when moving around cannot be overstated. It was a way to share music and make it mobile. Some may say that, because we do not really use cassettes anymore, the Walkman should stay extinct. The thing is that, not only are people digging up old cassettes. New artists release music to cassette. It is a way to appeal to a wider demographic. I don’t think it is a novelty. Many people will want to listen to an album in a physical form on the move, rather than streaming it. That is perfectly understandable and respectable. C.D.s are great, yet there is something about a cassette that cannot be beaten. They can be a less expensive option when it comes to buying albums. One of the drawbacks is that you cannot skip between tracks and have the same accessibility and ease you get with C.D.s or streaming. That is a minor complaint. The fact that there are more cassettes being produced and people are buying them means there is a need to produce technology they can be played on. I have asked before whether it might be possible to revive an old Sony Walkman design for the modern age.
In terms of profitability and popularity, I think having access to a Walkman (or other device) would help spur and increase cassette sales. I am sure that some people do have means of playing cassettes, though most of us do not. I have been looking online and seeing people discuss how they miss the Walkman and the process of loading in a tape. I am aware, as I have written before, how there are disadvantages. Tapes can become unspooled and come undone in the device. There are a lot of pluses. Having something compact where you can look at the linear notes and details is wonderfully exciting. I also like the fact that cassettes are quite tough and robust in terms of their design. Even though Walkmans were expensive when they were first released, they could be revived with a lower cost. I don’t see why they cannot be sold for less than, say, £70. That may sound expensive but, when you consider the fact they will last many years, it is a great investment. I don’t think we should assume modern music is about the digital and necessarily making things easier and less physical. The boom in vinyl sales shows there is a desire for tangible music. Whilst cassette sales are modest compared to vinyl, they are going to stay steady. Because there is not really anything to play them on, many people are buying them and essentially using them as art. If we want to encourage physical formats like cassettes to survive and remain, we need to make sure people can play them!
I think that getting the Discman going again might be flawed. People can play C.D.s more readily. Many can play them in cars and, if you have an old C.D. player, they work. Many laptops can accommodate compact discs. That is not true when it comes to cassettes. A sleek and durable version of the Sony Walkman – maybe the model that came out in 1986 – in a range of colours with a mixture of classic and modern functionality (the play, pause, stop, rewind, forward, volume functions etc., combined with a digital interface) would prove popular I feel. Given a slight resurgence in cassette sales, perhaps the profit margin would be very thin. I guess that there would need to be a vinyl-like boom to facilitate anything like a new Walkman. If there was a device already, then sales would naturally increase. It is over to manufacturers to recognise that cassettes still have a place and there is a demand. If people are struggling to play them, then they will be confined to the status of artefact or decoration. That is not something we want with cassettes or vinyl. Artists release cassettes now so that people have the option to play them. I will not labour the point too much. I am aware I have discussed this a few times already. It seems a shame that there is not really impetus from any corners to put out a 2022 version of the Sony Walkman. Hopefully series like Stranger Things (set in the 1980s), combined with a revival of the format, will make people act. It would be good to see a cassette-playing device back on the market…
AS soon as possible.