‘It’s more of a lifestyle, a fashionable device, not just tech’: We Are Rewind’s CEO on how the Pink Floyd collab is turning cassette players into ‘collector’s items’

We Are Rewind x Pink Floyd WE-001 cassette player — (Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Tom's Guide)

A lot of my childhood memories revolve around family roadtrips, and on one such roadtrip, I vividly remember my dad inserting a CD with a white triangular prism on a black background, the colors of the rainbow emerging from one side, into his car's player. I listened to the entirety of that 10-track album and though I didn't understand many of the lyrics as a 7-year-old, the album stuck with me.

I didn't even have to name the album and you're already thinking of it. Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" is nothing short of iconic. It's my favorite album of all time (I've even got a tattoo dedicated to it), so when the We Are Rewind x Pink Floyd WE-001 cassette player landed on my desk, I instantly fell in love.

And We Are Rewind's CEO, Romain Boudruche, echoes my sentiments. Speaking with him about the inspiration behind the collab, the popularity of cassettes (alongside vinyl) among Gen Z, and how cassettes are becoming "collector's items" will give anyone newfound appreciation for physical media.

'Today, you don't own what you pay for'

A woman holding a We Are Rewind x Pink Floyd cassette player and a The Dark Side of the Moon cassette — (Image credit: Nikita Achanta / Tom's Guide)

Physical media has seen a comeback in recent years, with vinyl purchases in 2025 surpassing $1.04 billion in the U.S. alone, according to a report by the Recording Industry Association of America. On the flipside, Sony announced that it would be ending physical disc production for PlayStation consoles in 2028. Why can't we own what we pay for now?

We Are Rewind is doing what it can to keep physical media alive. The French company was founded by two friends who wanted to bring back the cassette player — and that resonates with Gen Z. "Gen Z really want to hold things in their hands," Romain tells me. "You pay for your Netflix and Spotify subscriptions but you never hold anything in your hands. You don't own what you pay for. It's both a global saturation of digital things and that, for example, when you're listening to music, you're constantly distracted by notifications."

That's something I believe all of us can relate to.

"I listen to music on my phone and then I have a pop-up from Instagram, and I click on it, and then I realize I've been scrolling for hours, for nothing," Romain says.

And that's where We Are Rewind's WE-001 cassette player comes into play. "Holding a cassette player is a way to be very focused on what you're doing in that moment, and you're committed to it."

Holding a cassette player is a way to be very focused on what you're doing in that moment, and you're committed to it.
Romain Boudruche, We Are Rewind CEO

Alongside eliminating doomscrolling, cassette players invoke a feeling of nostalgia. I, personally, grew up in a time when I was burning my own CDs. The generation before mine was doing the same with mixtapes.

"I think there's something reassuring about projecting yourself in past times, even for people who didn't grow up in the 1970s or 80s," Romain says. "They are nostalgic for a period of time they didn't know but it's a way to go back, because they think of it as a less stressful time.

"Back in the day, you didn't worry about, 'What's the future going to be like?' I know there were a lot of scary things in the 80s too, but for those who didn't grow up in that period, it feels safe."

And Romain isn't wrong. In the age of social media where there's an overload of information, disinformation and fearmongering, it's hard not to worry about the future. Music, for me, has always been a safe space, and having a screen-free cassette player helps keep it intact.

'It's more of an art object'

The We Are Rewind WE-001 was first released in 2023 and since then, Romain has been working closely with his team to release the limited edition Pink Floyd collab, to pay homage to one of his favorite bands.

And the Pink Floyd version is a thing of beauty. I've been using it for a couple of weeks and it's sublime: from its aluminum body and tactile buttons, to its modern features like USB-C charging and Bluetooth 5.1 support, it's a nifty gadget.

For Romain, it's more than that. "It's more of a lifestyle, a fashionable device," he tells me with a big smile on his face, "and it's more of an art object, not just tech."

The WE-001 being made of aluminum plays a big role in it feeling like a "collector's item" and not just a toy, so how did the cassette player come about?

You know when the kid picks up the glasses and the guy says, 'Are they heavy? Then they're expensive.' Every time we can, we like to use premium aluminum materials in our products.
Romain Boudruche, We Are Rewind CEO

"It started with an article I read which said that cassettes were making a comeback thanks to 'The Guardians of the Galaxy,' " Romain laughs. "I saw that there are only plastic players, poor quality ones, in the market. We wanted to do something very close to the first Sony Walkman — one I held in my hands, and it was cold and heavy, and I wanted that, and we did it. The WE-001 gives the impression of something strong and something that's going to last long."

You're getting bang for your buck with the WE-001. The Pink Floyd version is priced at $199 / £159, and when explaining the price to me, Romain cites a quote from the 1993 blockbuster, "Jurassic Park."

"You know when the kid picks up the glasses and the guy says, 'Are they heavy? Then they're expensive.' Every time we can, we like to use premium aluminum materials in our products, like in the Freddie Headphones."

The Pink Floyd WE-001 is certainly a collector's item, and each box includes an official 50th anniversary remastered edition of "The Dark Side of the Moon" (exclusive, because there's nowhere else to get it). The first batch consisted of just 3,000 units — and they sold out within a week.

I was lucky number 834, as mentioned on a little card inside the cassette player box. We Are Rewind is currently working on a second batch, expected to be available around November. "Just in time for Christmas!" exclaims Romain.

'A 50/50 split between the older and younger audiences'

The We Are Rewind x Pink Floyd collaboration feels special. Creating a product that pays homage to one of the greatest rock bands of all time is no mean feat but We Are Rewind has done it, and there's a lot more Romain wants to do. When asked if there are any bucket list artists he wants to work with, or design products inspired by them, Romain was quick to answer.

"The 'White Album' by The Beatles, definitely! We would like to make an entire white boxset dedicated to it, hopefully for the anniversary in 2028. There's things we want to do with Gorillaz and Daft Punk, too, and David Bowie. But I don't think we can go higher than Pink Floyd and Dark Side. It's the best album of all time, and it looks fantastic. As soon as I opened the box, I was like, 'Okay, I'm in love.'"

He is, of course, not the only one. Given the limited edition's popularity and how quickly it sold out, I had to ask Romain about who was buying it. Gen Z? Gen X? Millennials? While he didn't have the data to hand, Romain believes that it's "a 50/50 split between the older and younger audiences."

"It's something that we didn't expect in the first place as we were going to target only people who were familiar with cassette players, so older generations," he adds, "and it's totally different now. We have people between 50 and 70 as well as very young people between 17 and 25 buying the player." Maybe you were one of them, dear reader, or you could be when the next batch drops.

While cassette sales are up by 17.5% in the U.S., and up by 53% from 2024 to 2025 in the U.K., Romain doesn't think they will become as popular as vinyl. "I wish it would but I don't think it will," he says.

"Physical and running issues with cassettes can be problematic and something people struggle with. It's definitely going to keep growing in popularity in the coming years, I'm convinced about that, but I don't think it will reach the peaks vinyl has."

Even if they don't become as popular as vinyl has, I don't believe that's a problem. As long as they're still around and available to buy, and a company like We Are Rewind is actively working towards making the format more accessible, perhaps that's all we need right now.

For Romain, even having just the option to buy cassettes is a boon. "When you are in love with an artist, you want to hold something from them, which is why I collect CDs, cassettes and records, and sometimes, it's nice to just display them and show your love for them."

And in an age of digital saturation where even one screen can feel overwhelming, We Are Rewind has nailed its WE-001 cassette player, striking the perfect balance between old and new. The Dark Side of the Moon edition is perhaps one of the the most special gadgets — or rather, pieces of art — I've owned.

I'm going to Breathe (In the Air), take my Time, maybe go On the Run, and enjoy this sonic masterpiece like it's The Great Gig in the Sky. On tape. As Pink Floyd intended.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

Nikita is a Senior Writer on the Reviews team at Tom's Guide. She's a lifelong gaming and photography enthusiast, always on the lookout for the latest tech. Having worked as a Sub Editor and Writer for Canon EMEA, she has interviewed photographers from all over the world and working in different genres.

When she’s not working, Nikita can usually be found sinking hours into RPGs on her PS5, flying a drone (she's a licensed drone pilot), at a concert, or watching F1. Her work has appeared in several publications including Motor Sport Magazine, NME, Marriott Bonvoy, The Independent, and Metro. You can follow her photography account on Instagram here.