An underground exhibition center in industrial optics, the accessoires hang on the Walkman wall at the top – The first portable music player. Many will still be familiar with this sound: push the button, insert the cassette, turn on the music and go. The visitors will remember those days.
On July 1979, Sony released its first Walkman. A small device that you could take with you to hear music cassettes on the go via headphones. Mostly worn with a clip on the belt. It revolutionized the way music was heard and paved the way for later developments such as the MP3 player and its most successful representation, the iPod.
Exhibition
In Tokyo, the exhibition celebrates Sony’s invention. Walkman in the Park was not only a review of four decades of mobile music players, but also let the audience try out the iconic cassette player himself. 40 years later, the Walkmans became an icon. Sony changed the way the world hears music.
Overslept Technical Development
Reminder of Japanese celebrities associate with the Walkman can be read and heard at various stations and on various portable devices. The cassette in the Walkman became a CD, then an MD and finally a memory card. The portable cassette player alone sold 200 million copies. The Japanese were pioneers, but do not use their advantage. Some say the success made Sony lethargic.
The focus of the exhibition is not on the products, but on the experiences that people have made then with the use of Walkmans – back to the ’80s. Visitors to the exhibition could listen to music on cassettes with cheap plastic headphones. So just like in the old days. In the vernaculars of many countries, the brand name Walkman has become a generic name.
