Brand Origins: The tiny music revolution 'Walkman' that changed how we listen

Before Spotify playlists, AirPods, and endless streaming, there was the Walkman—the little blue-and-silver cassette player that changed how the world experienced music.

But did you know the Sony Walkman almost didn’t happen?

In the late 1970s, Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka wanted a way to listen to opera music privately while traveling. At the time, portable music meant lugging around bulky boomboxes—not exactly convenient.

So, Sony’s engineers modified an existing cassette recorder, removed the recording function, added stereo sound, and created a small, lightweight music player. But when they pitched it internally, executives hated it. They didn’t believe anyone would want a "music player you can’t record on."

Despite the pushback, Sony’s chairman, Akio Morita, insisted on launching it. He personally demonstrated the Walkman to teenagers, office workers, and commuters—showing how music could now be enjoyed anytime, anywhere.

In 1979, the first Sony Walkman TPS-L2 hit the market. At first, sales were slow—until people saw others wearing those iconic foam-covered headphones in public. Suddenly, listening to music became personal. It was a status symbol, a cultural shift, and a revolution in how people connected with their favorite songs.

By the late ‘80s, the Walkman was everywhere. It shaped jogging culture, made mixtapes a love language, and became the soundtrack to millions of lives. Over 400 million Walkmans were sold before the iPod took over.

And here’s a fun fact: In Japan, the Walkman was originally called the "Soundabout" in the U.S. and "Stowaway" in the U.K.—but Sony later standardized the name because "Walkman" just felt right.