How Popular Music Devices Are Becoming Antique Items

By Author: Seth Frank
Total Articles: 17
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The evolution of music and its equipment continues to lead to new means of hearing and saving beloved songs. From the heyday of vinyl records to the new age of cloud storage devices, once popular music mediums have disappeared from the earth and been thrown into mere discount bins and labeled as antique relics. Sure, your new iPod may one day become outdated, but that does not mean you should discard your shiny new toy; keep it, because 20, 30 or even 40 years from now you might discover that your old device is worth a pretty penny.

Cassette Players

Walkman by Sony managed to reinvent the music medium of a generation; sporting a smaller, more portable device with new headphone technology, it became an instant success. Individuals could carry their music anywhere, and with dozens of imitators, the original Walkman is sure to fetch a pretty penny later down the road. Of course, as the Walkman gained popularity, smaller and smaller models were made, but the earlier devices seem to be the most valuable when one is looking to sell. You might have an old, still functioning 1979 or early model of the Walkman that could ...
... get a pretty penny in a couple of years.

Phonographs

Preceding the smaller, more sophisticated cassette players, phonographs were utilized for most of the 20th century before the popularity of cassettes emerged in the early 80s. While more modern VPI turntables may not hold as much value as their early models, late 1800s phonographs do hold a lot of value. Capable of being played at different speeds, the more uncommon phonographs typically play less popular records that include 45 RPM, and have the biggest resale value of all the items.

CD Players

With more and more devices hoping to replace the CD player, it’s only a matter of time before this device becomes defunct as well, especially with so many MP3 players out on the market. Still, if you desire to cash in on the value of the product, you might be better off keeping the older renditions that had no shock-proof technology and played normal CDs like the originals once did. Of course, records, like Bob Dylan vinyl albums, will have higher resale value than the same CDs from the recording artist, so it might be a wise idea to hold on to some just in case. The technology of prior years continues to age and go from being the hit items to own to old, antiques. So hold on to your original iPods, because 30, 40 and even 50 years from now, the product may be worth triple the cost.