The ability to record audio on magnetic tape was invented by Fritz Pfleumer in 1928, based on the prior invention of magnetic wire recording by Valdemar Poulsen in 1898, and since then it has been a mainstay of music recording whether for the end product or as a means of producing products such as vinyl records. Until the development of digital recording technologies if it was recorded it was usually on magnetic tape.
A plethora of different recording formats and media types based on magnetic tape, often known as reel to reel tapes, have been used over the years and latterly some form of standardisation took place with the use of a specific tape width and recording speed. But even then complications could occur dependent on the recording and playback heads used and the number of tracks employed at the time. Reel to reel tapes were effectively kept as a professional product and it was relatively uncommon for the average music listener to have even a basic reel to reel player or recorder.
Magnetic tape as a means of audio playback (and recording) started to gain mainstream consumer acceptance in the 1960s with the introduction of the Compact Cassette. The Compact Cassette allowed many people to (illegally) copy records, radio programmes and even sound from television broadcasts as well as providing a means to record many contemporary sounds and oral histories. The so-called Mix Tape came into its own cultural form with people making their own long "programmes" of music in accordance with their specific, unique wishes rather than relying upon the decisions taken by media producers. Many vehicles had cassette players installed providing greater audio freedom and, later on, came the Sony Walkman giving music truly on the move.
Magnetic tape formats have also been used for recording video signals and computer data but slowly the spread of digitalisation has saw the use of magnetic tape relegated over time. Tape, however, still has its place in many applications.
Musiclibrary.fi holds a selected collection of works on various types of magnetic tape and in due course access will be provided to its collection catalogue.