The Rise And Fall Of The 8-Track Tape
There have been a lot of different technologies over the decades when it comes to music. First there was the gramophone, then we had records, finally we had the 8-track tape. When 8-track tapes were invented, car owners rejoiced. It was finally possible to play your favorite artist ‘on demand’ instead of listening to the radio.
The Invention Of The 8-Track
In the early 1960s, the concept of the 8-track was born. The greatest minds at Ford Motors, RCA Records, and a couple of others developed the 8-track into usable technology. Once they had a tape that could be loaded with 8 songs, it was ready to roll out the tech and start raking in the big bucks. Ford had a deal with the creators, that they would have exclusive rights to the technology at first. That meant that anybody who wanted to be one of the first owners of an 8-track, needed to buy a Ford vehicle. By 1966, every Ford had an 8-track system, and their customers were able to cruise around with their favorite tunes.
Once the technology took off, other car companies began to manufacture cars with 8-track systems. People liked how portable 8-tracks were in comparison to records. A whole bunch of them could be popped into a glove box, and pulled out on long road trips. The creators then realized they could make 8-track players for home use. Once more everyone went out and bought 8-track tape systems for their living rooms.
Issues With The System
Like all technology, eventually it becomes obsolete in favor of a new one that offered better features. Over time, the 8-track began to show that it wasn’t perfect. By 1975, 8-tracks were no longer coveted systems. The tapes themselves were only good for a few uses. Once they had been played over and over, the sound quality began to degrade. Sometimes one song would begin to overlap on to the next one, which didn’t sound the best. In addition to that, the inside of the tapes would often break. Sometimes the magnetic tape inside would break, or get tangled which meant the 8-track would no longer work in the system. On top of that, people began to get bored of the 8-tracks they could listen to, and wanted a technology that was easier to rewind. By 1975, 8-tracks were on the decline, and a new tech was right around the corner.
Cassettes
Cassette tapes were invented by Philips in 1963, but it wasn’t until the mid 1970s that they became popular. They were much smaller than 8-tracks, and could hold an entire record, which an 8-track couldn’t. On top of that, the sound quality didn’t degrade over time. Eventually, 8-tracks faded into the past, and everyone began using cassettes.
We know now that cassettes became obsolete too, and music is mainly in a digital cloud based format. With apps like Spotify, you can literally listen to any artist or song, but it’s nice to look back and see where our music technology has come from.