MEMORABLE: Lou Ottens, Inventor Of The Cassette Tape, Has Died
Lou Ottens, Inventor Of The Cassette Tape, Has Died
Lou Ottens, who put music lovers around the world on a path toward playlists and mixtapes by leading the invention of the first cassette tape, has died at age 94, according to media reports in the Netherlands. Ottens was a talented and influential engineer at Philips, where he also helped develop consumer compact discs.
While working for Dutch-based Philips, Ottens wanted to create a smaller, cheaper version of the clunky reel-to-reel music format. In 1963, the "compact cassette" was released to the world. Interestingly, in later years, Ottens himself stated that tape was "prone to noise" and distortion and believed that compact discs were superior. We send our condolences to Ottens' family. A longer retrospective of Ottens' life can be found at NPR.
