Eminem to re-release "Slim Shady" record on Cassette ... new trend?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Stephen J, Mar 6, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Stephen J

    Stephen J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Eminem tweeted the other day that he's re-releasing his 1999 debut album on cassette tape. Seems like everyone is releasing or re-releasing old stuff on vinyl, but are cassette re-releases going to be a new thing too? I have this album on CD but I'm not sure I even have a tape deck lying around anywhere that could play a cassette anymore, LOL.

    I always had a love-hate with cassettes. Compared to vinyl, the sound was always inferior. And nothing was more frustrating than having a tape break or get twisted in your player, gumming everything up. But if you're over 30 you recall that tapes (cassette or 8-track) were for years the only way to hear portable music that you owned, and we all spent countless hours blasting tapes from our car stereos and boom boxes.
     
    DrBeatle and lightbulb like this.
  2. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Unlike vinyl it's a terrible format. I don't know who is pining to buy this album on cassette in 2016.
     
    Scott222C, DrBeatle, Galeans and 3 others like this.
  3. Grootna

    Grootna Senior Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Doubt this the start of a trend. Did find a nice three head JVC at a pawn shop the other day....sounds nice. Needed a decent cassette deck as my old benz doesn't have cd. Time to make few mix tapes with some old TDK Type II and Maxell 45 and 60's That I found. Never felt comfortable using 90's and especially 120's in a car.
     
    Fullbug likes this.
  4. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    I've never taken a Business Marketing/Economics class, but I believe the Cost of Manufacture Vs Revenue must be a strong factor. I think that if you can mass produce a release on cassette, wildly guessing for $1 each, and then sell the final product for $10, that's a healthy mark-up.
    (Even in the end, taking a bite on 50% loss on non-sales or returns)

    Slim Shady cassettes = Fat Lucrative profits
     
    Tommy and Stephen J like this.
  5. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    The flaw in this thinking is that I don't think there are all that many people who will want to buy it on cassette.

    If you're a teenager or 20-something you have no fond memories of the cassette format. If you're in your 40's or 50's you're probably A). Not an Eminem fan in the first place, B). Are a fan and already own the album, or C). Will want to buy the album as a digital download or CD.

    I guess I just don't understand how there could be that many people who say "OH BOY! I really want to own Eminem's album on cassette!". What would they play it in? Their old cars?

    Cassettes were never a good format but now there really is no reason to buy them.
     
    driverdrummer and Stephen J like this.
  6. bamaaudio

    bamaaudio Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    I remember about a decade ago when there was still a rack on the back wall of the local FYE that had a number of late 90s and early 00s releases including this one and artists like Lil Jon, Master P and Britney Spears... mostly rap and pop. I'm guessing they completely did away with them by around 2005 or 2006 as they were pretty much a complete novelty by that point and it was one of the only reasons I bought a number of them (aside from them being dirt cheap on clearance). The last 'big label 'tapes I remember seeing in a store were Britney Spears - Into the Zone & Lil Jon - Crunk Juice from 2004. It seemed that was around the last year I recall 'new' releases from gold or platinum selling artists on cassette and can't imagine very many were produced or sold by that point.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2016
    StereoMan56 and driverdrummer like this.
  7. The Trinity

    The Trinity Do what thou wilt, so mote be it.

    Location:
    Canada
    I think that we've come to a point in time where there has been an epiphany regarding musical mediums. In a world of intangible, inherently valueless, but convenient digital files, the artists and manufacturers have realized that physical media can co-exist in the marketplace. Give people a choice, and let them pick what appeals to them, based on their needs and interests. I think it's wonderful, and sound quality rarely ranks as a priority for most people, as long as what they are listening to is acceptable to their ears.
     
  8. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
  9. the sands

    the sands Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    Y not. I'm not a cassette person myself I'm vinyl but it's an odd trend. I thought cassettes were not only gone but forgotten about. I guess that's how wrong one can be if one think to know what's going on in people's heads. ;)
     
  10. Hannah

    Hannah Only love can conquer

    They've been a new thing for a couple of years (see Blink 182 -- or don't).

    It's a pure nostalgia/hipster play. Though I still have a couple hundred cassettes in a box (and just sent my harman/kardon CD491 off for a new idler "tire"). But I'm old, and those tapes are mostly my own bands' stuff, so it isn't like they're replaceable in another format.

    But talk to anyone who runs a record store - the kids are asking for cassettes. Go figure. Though a good cassette deck is probably going to serve them better than one of those $59 Crosley "turntables."
     
    Erik B., lightbulb and Stephen J like this.
  11. Stephen J

    Stephen J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    That seems to be the case, as the press release says the cassette will be packaged with a "Slim Shady" t-shirt, so it appears to be a commemorative type release intended to appeal to people who were teens who bought the album in the late 90s on cassette and who now are in their 30s with discretionary income to indulge a touch of nostalgia.

    Not that this is a bad thing, if people want it, then why not?
     
    arglebargle and lightbulb like this.
  12. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    They should have really gone old school and released it on 8-Track.
     
    eric777, The Trinity and Stephen J like this.
  13. Stephen J

    Stephen J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Yes, but I guess that for a 1999 release, cassette is about as "old school" as you can get and still be releasing in a medium that it actually was released in during its initial run, thereby triggering the nostalgia factor.

    IOW's, Foreigner might be able to sell me an 8-track of "Double Vision" these days because I actually did own that album on 8-track back in the day. But I never owned it on 78-RPM vinyl so that wouldn't appeal to me, at least not from a nostalgia perspective.
     
    lightbulb and The Trinity like this.
  14. Stephen J

    Stephen J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    I fall into your category (B), I am in my 50s and have owned this record since 1999 (on CD) and see no reason to buy the cassette.

    Nevertheless, the release appeals to me on some kind of gut level. I like the idea of making the album available on the cassette format for people who still like to play tapes.

    As for the money and concerns about the audience size for this, I doubt it is a huge motivation. Eminem owns at least part of his label imprint and the run will probably be relatively small. He is probably doing it (a) for the fun of it, because he can, and (b) because it is creating a bit of buzz that keeps his name in the mix until he's ready to release his next new record, and (c) his label is collecting new e-mails for marketing reasons going forward. So it may not matter much to him whether it hits its economic break-even point or not.
     
  15. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    I hate cassettes but I can see the appeal of releasing them. Cheap. And you can just include a download card.
     
  16. dvda

    dvda Forum Resident

    Location:
    usa
    I thought cassette would make a comeback. Now here it is (maybe).

    Cassette can SOMETIMES sound better than vinyl, but only when the media is very high quality and top notch Nakamichi decks are used.

    If cassette does make a comeback, however, they will likely be from digital masters like much of today's vinyl. If so then what's the point.
     
    Chemguy likes this.
  17. Malina

    Malina Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    It's been a trend for years now and is growing.
     
    bootbox and lightbulb like this.
  18. braun

    braun Active Member

    Location:
    salt lake city
    jeez, i thought my run-of-the-mill JVC deck sounded pretty decent... now i'll have to re-evaluate my experiences.
     
  19. manicpopthrill

    manicpopthrill Forum Resident

    Location:
    ICT, Kansas
    I recall being laughed at by coworkers circa 2004 for bringing in a homemade cassette comp of Elvis Costello. 10 years ago I was a grandpa, now I'm a hipsta.
     
    SimonSaysCake likes this.
  20. sons of nothing

    sons of nothing Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    I've been suggesting to my musician friends for several years to put something out on tape with a download code. It is far better than leaving a established local show with a crap cdr, plus you have a cool memento. Hipster trend? Probably. But bands need to find ways to make money. A paying gate alone is not enough.
     
    hamicle, lightbulb and Gems-A-Bems like this.
  21. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    How dumb and retro-doofusy.
     
  22. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    If you give people cassettes at a concert most of them are going to end up in the trash because most people don't have anything to play them on in 2016.
     
  23. braun

    braun Active Member

    Location:
    salt lake city
    anybody who purchases a cassette at a concert will most likely hold onto it as a memento, or as a means to listen to the music of the band they purchased it from. i doubt bands are going to give tapes away for free
     
  24. qwerty

    qwerty A resident of the SH_Forums.

    It will enable the younger generation to experience the retro "warm analogue audiophile sound" of cassettes that is rated so highly in eBay cassette ads.
     
  25. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    What they'll get to experience is this!

    [​IMG]
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine