First NYC Tape Fair Brings Old School Tech to Bushwick this Weekend

By Kirstyn Brendlen, Brooklyn Paper

Cassette and VHS tapes once ruled the world of entertainment — but, just a half-century after they came on the scene, they’ve largely gone the way of the dodo.

In 2025, digital media is king. Online streaming services have libraries larger than any Blockbuster store, and the latest albums are available instantly on Spotify or Apple Music for a flat monthly fee.

But on April 27, physical media will rise once again at the first-ever NYC Tape Fair in Bushwick, where vendors’ tables will be stacked with old and new cassettes tapes, stacks of VHS tapes in their blocky plastic boxes, and more.

Co-founder Anthony Morton said he’s always loved physical media, starting when he was a “broke kid” who could only afford a $5 cassette at a concert.

“Similarly, with VHS, I wanted to own all my favorite movies, and realizing people were basically throwing VHS [tapes] away allowed me to do that and exposed me to so many new things because of the low financial barrier for entry,” he said. “I think keeping it that way, and maintaining tape as a medium, keeps that low barrier. It’s good for artists, good for consumers, and keeps art available for all.”

He still collects tapes, but finding them isn’t easy. His often fruitless shopping trips helped inspire NYC Tape Fair.

“I went to a lot of record fairs and there would be one vendor with a box of tapes, not really curated, just kind of stuff they found along the way when they were buying records,” he said. “And I was like, I’d really, selfishly, love for a tape fair to happen. And to get all of these people in one room.”

It was a “labor of love” for Morton and co-founder Ricardo Marrero to find all the vendors, he said, but for six hours on Sunday, at least a dozen will gather at Selva, a record store-art gallery-cafe on Willoughby Avenue.

“We’re honored to host the NYC Tape Fair for their first event, bringing together individuals with niche interests to celebrate music, art, and underground works that have yet to be discovered,” said Lucas Cabu and Marc Grillo, two of Selva’s owners.

Sellers will include stores such as the Captured Record Shop in Greenpoint and the new Night Owl Video in Williamsburg plus independent collectors like Mike Videopunk and Billy Bombs. They’ll be offering rare vintage tapes alongside new ones and collector necessities like hard-to-find tape storage.

Morton was particularly excited about the Found Footage Festival, which travels around the country showing off long-lost tapes found in thrift stores and estate sales, and will be showing off some archival footage at NYC Tape Festival on Sunday.

“They have essentially the world’s largest collection of obscure and niche things put to VHS,” he said. “They were excited about [the festival] and took the time to take some things from the archive to sell.”

While streaming dominates entertainment, Morton thinks more and more people are growing fatigued with logins and subscriptions and are returning to the simplicity of popping in a tape.

He may be right. Earlier this month, Night Owl Video opened its doors in Williamsburg, stocked entirely with DVDs, VHS tapes, and movie memorabilia.

Recent stats have shown small surges in sales of vinyl records, cassette tapes, and DVDs — likely driven by equal parts nostalgia and practicality. Streaming giants often pull movies and TV shows from their platforms with little warning, leaving fans with no way to watch; and artists have come and gone from Spotify.

“I think people have kind of realized that they don’t have a tangible connection, they don’t have a tactile thing they can hold,” Morton said. “And that kind of scares [them], like, what if it all goes away? It definitely has people kind of clamoring to own their favorite things, and to be able to access them at their own speed.”

NYC Tape Fair pops up in Brooklyn for one day only on Sunday, April 27, from noon to 6 p.m. at Selva at 1329 Willoughby Avenue in Bushwick.

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

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