In The Digital Era, Kaset Kembali Diminati Di Jepang

Kaset (Instagram @jajankaset)

JAKARTA - Digital streaming platform (DSP) or digital streaming service dominates the world's music industry. However, a surprising retro revival occurred in Japan. The record is again in demand by music lovers.

Kaset yang tadinya dianggap warga masa lalu, saat ini kembali menarik generasi baru penggemar musik dengan pernyatanyaannya yang penuh nostalgia dan suaranya yang hangat dan kaya.

Several shops in Japan's capital Tokyo are expanding parts of their special cassettes. This signals the rise of analog recording media.

Casets are used when I want to listen to music carefully,' said a 21-year-old student from Kanagawa who visits the Tower Records Shibuya store in Tokyo once a week to look for cassettes, launching Nikkei Asia, Wednesday, February 28.

Although the student listens to music through digital platforms, he has about 20 tapes collected since high school and highly praises his warm and unique voice.

In some stores such as Tower Records, the popularity of cassettes is increasing, especially among people in their 20s and 30s who have never had a cassette heyday in the 1980s.

According to industry executives, sales of used and new cassettes are also on the rise. In September last year, Tower Records stores Shibuya expanded their special parts, providing about 3,000 tapes, six times more than before, including new ones and used ones.

"The buyer's age varies from teenagers to people in their 50s, with their 30s as the largest group. The younger generation seems to think of the younger generation as new and funny stuff," said Ko Takeda in charge of the cassette parts at the Tower Records Shibuya store.

The black plate is also getting more and more attention. However, Takeda calls the competitiveness of cassette prices, which can be obtained more affordable. This makes it more popular as an analog choice.

"Casets are something you can have and feel," said Taro Tsunoda, who has also been running a cassette shop in Tokyo since 2015.

"For the younger generation, cassettes are something new. And for those who have used them, cassettes evoke nostalgia about the early days of listening to music," he continued.

Along with the return of cassettes, new cassette players were also launched recently, and some of their products were selling well.