Playtape also sold a professional version for dictation in offices. There was supposed to be a slightly larger cartridge and home player/recorder that held enough tape for an entire album, but that never came to be. I think there were some stereo Playtapes issued, but I've never seen a portable that was stereo, nor have I seen any prerecorded stereo Playtapes. For such a small company they sure got a lot of music released - I doubt that a company like that could get the titles today. Record companies now hold on to their music beyond reason and "Special Products" licensing divisions seem to have gone the way of the Dodo bird. It's a sad situation because it deprives them, and the artists, of revenue and deprives the consumer of music they want on the format they want, flat-out encouraging piracy. As we all know, the current situation with old quadraphonic titles is the same - the high quality transfers many have done, and made available on torrent sites, have had enough downloads to show that a company would have made money had they released the titles on SACD, DVD-A or BD Audio. Yet they continue to do nothing with them, all the while screaming about the losses they are suffering. It's a sad situation as we all know well.
Sorry to get sidetracked with a rant.
...I will take exception with one small point, though. "Special products" divisions still exist. Columbia has leased many titles to Mofi, Wounded Bird, Analogue Productions, Collector's Choice and a variety of other labels. Universal and EMI have "special markets" logos that appear on AP SACD's. WEA leases titles to Mofi and others, as well.
I agree that the labels have all left money on the table by not (re)releasing Quad & MC titles already mixed and/or released. Although a few may be unprofitable to press, the vast majority would sell and be profitable. I'm also frustrated that many Quad titles have reappeared on SACD, but as only 2ch.
Although budget labels like Harmony and Camden have long gone by the wayside, the record labels have created variable pricing. That's why we now see older titles, even greatest hits for $5.
I've refrained from adding dictation recorders to this thread. There were a host of unsuccessful formats introduced in the early '60's for that market. I was not aware of the dictation Playtape, though I had heard rumblings of Video Playtape. I laughed when I hear that and quipped, "long enough for what? Commercials?" Playtape was a nice idea, but like Elcaset, it came too late. The market it was aimed at was growing up rapidly and albums were becoming an artform. Kids would soon want stereo systems, if they didn't already. In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida doesn't seem like a natural for Playtape. (Don't say it was out on a 45, 'cause I own one.) Although it was a cute, fun format, it was doomed from the start.
...Another problem with Playtape, besides it's limited playing time, was its fidelity. Even an advanced noise reduction system such as DBX, if one had been available then, couldn't overcome the frequency response/dynamic range and wow and flutter limitations of the narrow tape, slow speed cartridge - all of which would have eventually killed it...
dbx would have been a nightmare on Playtape. The dropouts would have driven the decoder insane. The results would have been horrendous.
Thanks for the Hip-Pocket Records post, Bob! Hey Jude is edited down to 3:25. BTW: The Beatles' group recordings were NEVER on Apple! What? It can't be. There were lots of LP's, 8-tks, reels, cassettes, 45's and later CD's on the Apple label. Yes, but those only used the Apple name and artwork. All BEATLES recordings were/are released on Capitol, Parlophone or whatever local brand that EMI has used. Likely that will continue under Universal's ownership of EMI.
Yes and you can see the Capitol logo on the little flexi..
I think most of it is out as Parlophone now. Not sure but...
You are quite welcome for the post.
And thank YOU for the pix... I had one of those RCA units at one time.
Found it in the trash and took it home.
I managed to find like 3 tapes for it.
There was also the "Minicassette" as well that was just rim driven, not a capstan like the Microcassette.
They were called Muntz cartridges if I remember... the 8-Tracks were "Lear" carts.
The Muntz carts were 4 track and the pinch roller was in the deck and not the cart.
They were used in radio stations for years.
And in a shiteload of cars....
Yep, Muntz started the format and also ran the duplication business. 4 track had better sound than the 8 track since the pinch roller wasn't part of the cartridge. 8 track manufacturers made the roller as cheap as possible, and sometimes it was so cheap it wasn't even completely round. I have an interview from the early 80's with Muntz and he talks a lot about the 4 track cart and the competition with Lear's 8 track. 4 track was a better format, but 8 track won the mass market. And at the time, who knew that the lowly Compact Cassette would be improved to have such fidelity? Dolby and Advent had a lot to do with that.
They were called Muntz cartridges if I remember... the 8-Tracks were "Lear" carts.
The Muntz carts were 4 track and the pinch roller was in the deck and not the cart.
They were used in radio stations for years.
And in a shiteload of cars....
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