The Truth About The Invention Of The Audio Cassette Tape

Publish date: 2024-04-14

Ottens wanted to invent something far easier to use. The Seattle Times wrote that one evening, Ottens wanted to listen to some classical music in his home. He'd been trying to thread the magnetic tape through the reel-to-reel recorder, and it wasn't going well. It took him hours before he could even get it to work. That experience galvanized the need for an easier way to listen to music. Ottens carried a small, thin, wooden block in his pocket to give him an idea of how portable their new tape should be, said NPR. (Ottens lost the wooden prototype when he used it to prop up a jack to change a flat tire.)

At this time, Philips' competitor, RCA, developed their version of a portable tape in 1958. It was not as small as Ottens' wooden prototype, but it was still half the size of the normal reel-to-reel. At first, said Techwalla, Philips didn't want to make the cassette as a means to distribute music. It was supposed to be a toy. But Ottens's invention was just too good. The tape was first unveiled during the 1963 Berlin Radio Show, explained Legacy Box. They called the tape the compact cassette, or the music cassette. The following year, it was introduced to the United States. Philips may have wanted to keep the manufacturing a secret, but Ottens really wanted others to enjoy his invention, so he convinced executives to share with other companies.

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