The 1/4 inch tape was housed in a plastic cartridge, running in an endless loop at 3¾ inches per second. The pinch roller was built in to the cartridge, and cheap manufacturing led to the use of plastic rollers instead of rubber, which caused excessive tape wear and jamming. The tape is divided in along its length into 8 channels (tracks)- allowing 4 "channels" of stereo music. Most major companies quit producing 8-tracks by 1988. It's hard to believe, but several smaller companies still release titles on this format today!

Now, in the late 1990s, the popularity of collecting 8-track tapes is noticeably on the rise. It wasn't too many years ago that most collectors would pass these by at conventions and on lists, figuring them as pretty much worthless. Just try to find ANY Beatles title of a 1960s 8-track tape that is still sealed - you'll find many titles harder to find and perhaps rarer than their sealed vinyl counterparts. Even sealed, they hardly exist in mint condition, as many had "bubbled" labels and bent outer cardboard sleeves.

The first Beatles 8-track tape issued was Rubber Soul at the end of 1965, and the last was Reel Music in 1982. The ONLY promotional Beatles 8-track ever issued was Live At The Hollywood Bowl, designed for in-store promotional use.