Lou Ottens, who helped bring music to the masses as the inventor of the cassette tape, passes away at 94

Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor who helped make music accessible to the masses with the invention of the cassette tape, has sadly passed away at the age of 94.

In a 2013 interview with The Register, Ottens explained how other inventions inspired him and his team to create the cassette tape:

“Somewhere during 1958 the US company RCA proposed in a worldwide campaign the introduction together with a standardisation proposal of their so called “quick loading cartridge” based on two flangeless hubs in a flat box. Flangeless hubs facilitate smaller dimensions because one reel diminishes as the other grows in diameter. It was based on the existing standard tape speed 3 ¾ IPS [inches per second] or 9,5cm/sec and reversible utilisation for 2 x 30 minutes in stereo.”

The cassette tape was one of the defining items of the ’80s, much like the CD was for the ’90s, and the MP3 was in the new millennium. And unlike a vinyl LP, it was able to fit in your pocket with the Sony Walkman. Many metal bands hit it big in the ’80s when tape trading helped bring bands – especially ones from overseas – to a wider audience. When asked about how the cassette tape was able to be made a portable icon, Ottens had this to say:

“Because our aim was to make a pocket recorder, it should fit into the side pocket of my tweed jacket. I made a wood block that fitted in my pocket. That does not mean that carrying the actual recorder in my jacket was very comfortable or advisable.”