Topic summary
Recorded music
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Sound recording and reproduction.
1950s to 1980s
The pre-recorded 8-track tape was launched as a consumer audio format by the Lear Jet aircraft company in the 1960s. Similar to the audio cartridge format that had been in wide use in the radio industry from the late 1950s to the 1980s and aimed at the automotive market, they were the first practical, affordable car hi-fi systems, and could produce sound quality superior to that of the compact cassette. However, the cassette became the dominant consumer format for portable audio devices in the 1970s and 1980s due to its smaller size, greater durability, and the ability to create home-recorded music since 8-track recorders were rare.