8-track cartridge
The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic-tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, which pre-dated the 8-track system, surpassed it in popularity for pre-recorded music.
The inside of a cartridge. The black rubber pinch roller is at upper right. | |
| Media type | Magnetic tape cartridge endless loop |
|---|---|
| Encoding | Stereo analog signal |
| Capacity | Four stereo channels |
| Read mechanism | Tape head |
| Write mechanism | Magnetic recording head |
| Developed by | Lear Industries |
| Usage | Audio storage |
| Extended from | Fidelipac / Mohawk cartridge |
The format was commonly used in cars and was most popular in the United States and Canada and, to a lesser extent, in the United Kingdom. One advantage of the 8-track tape cartridge was that it could play continuously in an endless loop, and did not have to be ejected, turned around and reinserted to play the entire tape. After about 80 minutes of playing time, the tape would start again at the beginning. Because of the loop, there is no rewind. The only options the consumer has are play, fast forward, record, and program (track) change.
The Stereo 8 Cartridge was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear, of Lear Jet Corporation, along with Ampex, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Motorola, and RCA Victor Records (RCA - Radio Corporation of America).
The 8-track tape format is now considered obsolete, although there are collectors who refurbish these tapes and players as well as some bands that issue these tapes as a novelty. Cheap Trick's The Latest in 2009 was issued on 8-track, as was Dolly Parton's A Holly Dolly Christmas in 2020, the latter with an exclusive bonus track.