<P> Eight - track players became less common in homes and vehicles in the late 1970s . The compact cassette arrived in 1962, and by the 1970s the eight - track cartridges had greatly diminished in popularity . In some Latin American countries as well as European, the format was abandoned in the mid-1970s in favor of the smaller tape cassette which was one - third the size . </P> <P> In the U.S.A., eight - track cartridges were phased out of retail stores by late 1982 . Some titles were still available as eight - track tapes through Columbia House and RCA (BMG) Music Service Record Clubs until late 1988 . Many of these late - period releases are highly collectible because of the low numbers that were produced and the few customers who ever purchased them . Among the most rare is Stevie Ray Vaughan's Texas Flood . Another is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's Live / 1975 - 85, which was one of the very few boxed sets to be released on vinyl, cassette, compact disc, and eight - track tape . </P> <P> There is a debate among collectors about the last commercial eight - track released by a major label, but the fan / enthusiast internet website "8 Track Heaven" cannot find a major label release past Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits in November 1988 . Radio Shack (Tandy Corporation) continued to sell blank eight - track cartridges for home recording use under its Realistic brand until 1990 . </P> <P> The professional broadcast cart format survived for more than another decade at most local radio stations . It was used to play and switch short brief jingles, advertisements, station identifications, and music content until it was replaced by various computer - based methods in the 1990s . This format survived longer because it was used for relatively short sound loops, where starting from the beginning was more important than other criteria . The endless loop tape concept continues to be used in modern movie projectors, although in that application the spool is actively rotated and not drawn by tension on the film . That too, however, is now being supplanted by digital cinema technologies . </P>

When did 8 track tapes stop being produced