I have a hundred or so such tapes that contain Commodore PET programs from the early 1980s. Last time I tried to read them (about 10 years ago, when they were about 35 years old), I had...mixed results.
Part of that may be the tape drive (about 40 years old) but the reality is that consumer level cassette tapes aren't built to last: magnetic fields weaken, coating flakes off, tape stretches, and other factors prevent these from being storage solutions beyond 10-20 years (my guess), if that.
They might be a fun nostalgic diversion for listening to old music, where the audio degradation is part of the experience, but for data, they're a non-starter in my book.
Part of that may be the tape drive (about 40 years old) but the reality is that consumer level cassette tapes aren't built to last: magnetic fields weaken, coating flakes off, tape stretches, and other factors prevent these from being storage solutions beyond 10-20 years (my guess), if that.
They might be a fun nostalgic diversion for listening to old music, where the audio degradation is part of the experience, but for data, they're a non-starter in my book.