'Gaata Rahe Mera Dil...': The best 'manzil' for your audio

Here's how long your audio will last based on your choice of audio storage media

Like everything else, the way we listen to music has evolved with technology. The journey from phonograph, in which recordings could be played just once, to the era of unlimited music streaming saw multiple devices to help store audio.

Vinyl, CDs, mini-disc, cassette tape - each of these physical audio storage devices changed how we consumed and stored music. At present, where a million records are at our fingertips, thanks to the internet, these audio storage devices continue to draw music lovers.

For some, it is a reminder of their fond childhood memories - rewinding the cassette tape to listen to your favourite number; gently blowing and then wiping the CD to clean the dust; and spending hours going through each song on records to buy it. For others, it is the love for the medium itself. The auditory features of these storage devices depends on materials used to build them, which adds warmth, richness and depth to audio. Hence, vinyl records sound different than digital music.

Here we take a look at audio storage devices and estimate their life expectancy depending on various factors including manufacturing process and storage conditions:

All experts agree that the audio medium that, on average, lasts the longest under regular conditions is the vinyl record -- 100 years.

Even though live-streaming music while commuting to work or cooking or hanging out with friends is the norm, these audio storage devices have seen a revive in their demands in the recent years. According to British Phonographic Industry, the sale of audio cassette tapes doubled during the pandemic. In the UK, 156,542 cassettes were sold in 2020 – the highest total since 2003 and an increase of 94.7 per cent on 2019 sales. Even vinyl saw the rise in consumption for the 13th consecutive year with almost 5 million (4.8 million) copies being purchased during the first year of the pandemic, reporting a 11.5 per cent jump since 2019.

The resurgence in demand for these mediums is simply because enjoying listening to music goes far beyond narrow debates about sound quality. Our music-listening habit is soaked in cultural rituals, our own experiences and fondness of a particular medium that involves more than just our ears.