Downloads sound the end of cassettes

Following the demise of the floppy disk, it looks like analogue tape is about to meet a similar fate: Currys has announced it will no longer be stocking cassettes.

According to the electronics retailer, the growth of music downloads has sounded the death knell for the cassette. As of today, Currys will start flogging off its old stock of tapes and won't order in any more when supplies are exhausted. Cassette player equipment is also scheduled to vanish within the next 18 months.

The tape was born in 1963 when Philips launched the format which went on to gain popularity in the 1970s and 80s. The Thatcher years saw the biggest boom in cassette buying as portable tape players, led by Sony's Walkman, allowed music fans to listen to music on the go.

In 1989, at the height of sales of pre-recorded music cassettes, 83 million such tapes were bought by UK shoppers, while 1990 saw 95 million blank tapes shifted.

Three years later, however, its star began to fade with the launch of the CD and in 1993 the shiny disks were outselling analogue tapes. This year, Currys expects to sell less than one million blank tapes and envisages sales of music tapes will be "negligible".

Digital music, however, continues to grow. Analyst Berg Insight predicts music sold on digital formats will outsell physical by 2011.

Sales of tapes, which first launched under the brand Compact Cassettes, have slumped in recent years, said Peter Keenan, MD of Currys. Electronics buyers are now opting for recordable media including MP3 players, DVDs and memory sticks, he said.