Tapepacks are a collection of audio cassettes that feature live recordings of a music event/s. This form of distributing music is used predominantly in the Drum and Bass/Jungle & Happy hardcore scene in the UK.
Usually tapepacks are pre-recorded with a "live" recording of a dance DJ set. This set is generally mastered from a DAT tape that was recorded at the live event, reproduced in large numbers & distributed to the masses through Independent Record shops, via mail order and at the next event held by the promoter.
These items began life as a by-product of the burgeoning "acid house rave scene" in the UK, and became a great merchandising tool for the promoters & a powerful and important way of spreading the word of this new music around the country and further afield.
Organizations such as Fantazia, Helter Skelter, Dreamscape, Amnesia House, and many more were early pioneers of this type of merchandising product.
Initially the tapes were only single cassettes but as time progressed and their popularity grew, more tapes were compiled and sold together. Early on 1 to 2 tapes were found in a pack. By 1993 4 & 8 pack boxes were being produced in large numbers. By late 1995 promoters such as Dreamscape were using 12 tape boxes to cover their large events. In recent years some even included DVDs and CDs as a bonus.
Nowadays the tapepack is in decline due to the much greater use of CD packs within the dance music scene but there are a great many numbers of collectors who trawl sites such as eBay looking for these tapes. Many promoters sell their merchandise on sites like