A lot of my friends in bands, locally to their state, have been doing demos on CD and cassettes. I think it's a pretty cool way to support and have something rad to take home.

I was just thinking about making this thread, but now I see it!

I run a cassette tape record label, the link is in my signature. I also have a pretty big collection of rare tapes, some test pressings, super small runs, etc..

Here is my label's latest release (super shiny holographic tape goodness):

ormolycka is a good label that produces tapes i believe out of LA, and here in LA off of Fairfax is Family bookstore..they carry some good stuff. I think Vacation Records also carries tapes.. It's all we could use in one of the cars my parents had so we had tons of mixtapes and I was always pretty excited when someone gave me a tape...(happened much more often than you'd think).

I'm willing to trade tapes for toys

i love the tactile experience of a 2nd generation ipod.
the sound quality is much superior and you really can feel the warmth of an MPEG - 1.

I think you are getting cassettes and vinyl mixed up. No one is going to listen to tapes for a higher sound quality. However, on a high end system you will have a hard time telling the difference between tapes and someones ipod. I think the point here is that the new generation cassettes tapes are made in small runs and are fun to collect. A concept that should not be foreign to someone that collects rare toys.

I've been releasing tapes for the past 4 years. I think in today's musical climate, people aren't buying physical pieces of music like they used to (in favor of downloading mp3s). Band get by on shirts mostly, but obviously need to get their music out there for the die hards. I think cassette are an easy/ cheap way to get a physical copy of your music available. It's perfect for demos, but I've also released EPs. The bands had already released demos and 7"s, and wanted something new for a tour. Another band had a label fall through on a vinyl release, and just wanted it out. I've also done cassingles, which are dirt cheap to make w/ the wrap around O cover and shrinkwrapped.