Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
The Return of Cassettes: The Daily Nebraskan profiled a new label called Fantastic Cassettes that is working to revitalize music on tapes. “Anyone can record anything nowadays, especially with the Internet,” cofounder Jeff Bockoven said. “This is just the complete opposite of that I guess.” We’ll see how that goes.
The Return of Vinyl: Compact discs may not be popular any more, but vinyl is having a sales renaissance. The top five vinyl albums of 2014 all sold more than 25,000. Jack White’s second solo album, “Lazaretto,” topped the list with a respectable 75,700 LPs. [Consequence of Sound]
Nielsen on marketing to millennial men: A new study by Nielsen found that men in the 18-34 age bracket listen to a lot of music. The data revealed that 88% of U.S. men in that demographic listen to radio each week, with 11 hours and 42 minutes spent tuned in. They also said they were more interested in personalized streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify compared with other groups.
More on Merlin/Pandora: We’ve already given a thorough review to the deal inked between Merlin and Pandora, but Billboard also has an assessment that’s worth a read. It takes on the common critiques of the deal and explains how the arrangement should lead to more money for the indie label and its artists.