The Sony Walkman Turn 36 This Year, Here Is The First Commercial!

By chase | Oct 06, 2023

The Sony Walkman was introduced to the U.S. in June of 1980 (though it debuted in Japan a year earlier) and since then the music world has not been the same. Sony's president at the time hated the name Walkman but the people had already decided that it was the newest and coolest thing out there. While we're now used to taking our music with us everywhere, the Walkman was what introduced us to the possibility of listening to our favorite songs anywhere we wanted to go. The steep price tag of $150 in 1980 clearly did not stop the Walkman from becoming not only one of the most popular music players but one of the most needed accessories!

The Walkman is one of the major pillars of Sony's brand, having been transitioned into new formats over the years as music technology evolved. However the standard cassette player is by far the most successful of the entire line. Of the over 400 million Walkman-branded music players that have been sold, 200 million were the cassette players we know and love.

iPod's now hold more songs than we can even handle, which makes me miss the old days where you could make a mixtape of your top 10 songs and know every single word. Do you remember spending all your time recording songs off the radio and putting them together so you could share you mixtapes with friends and loved ones? I miss the old days and the struggle of sharing your favorite music with your favorite people. The Sony Walkman was not just a music player but a form of freedom that allowed us to listen to our music when we wanted!