Walkman: The Next 10 Years

Pushing the Cassette Icon Forward

By 1990, the Walkman had reached peak popularity, firmly established as the global symbol of portable music. Yet the industry was rapidly shifting. Compact discs began outselling cassette tapes, signaling a major change in how people listened to music. But Sony’s iconic device still had plenty of innovation ahead.

Before phones became our default music players—and even before the compact disc really took hold—Sony’s Walkman was still setting the pace. This piece picks up where we left off in “Walkman: The First 10 Years,” tracing the evolution of portable audio from the bulky TPS-L2 to the precision-built models that followed.

By 1989, Sony had sold more than 50 million Walkmans. The device was everywhere. But the landscape was shifting. Compact cassette sales had started to decline the year before, and CDs were quickly gaining traction. Still, Sony wasn’t ready to let go—they kept refining, experimenting, and testing what else the Walkman could be. The 1990s weren’t about revolution. They were about figuring out what still worked and how far the brand could stretch.