This was mini CD sent by one of my favorite recording artists I came to know through the music he sent to GAJOOB. He was one of a handful of people I met in person after reviewing their music in the magazine, showing up one night during a ski vacation in Salt Lake City. We jammed a little and he left with the start of a song which later became “Say It”. Around this time, he also sent me this mini CD of a cover of my song, “Kite On a String” and I thought is version was cool too. He wishes to be nameless these days.
Redacted (Kite)
- Kite
Redacted
from the album Kite
A Brief History of Mini CDs (3-inch CDs)
The mini CD, also known as the 3-inch CD or CD3, was introduced in the late 1980s as a smaller alternative to the standard 5-inch compact disc. Measuring just 80mm (about 3 inches) in diameter, these discs typically held around 21 minutes of audio or 180 MB of data. Originally intended for CD singles in the mainstream music market, they found modest popularity with releases from major labels during the late ’80s and early ’90s, especially in Japan and Europe.
While the commercial market never fully embraced the format, underground and independent artists later adopted the mini CD as a lo-fi, DIY alternative. Its short capacity made it ideal for EPs, demos, or limited-run projects—something akin to the 45 RPM single in the vinyl world. For zine editors and cassette culture archivists like me, mini CDs occasionally showed up in the mail, often bearing handpainted art or printed inserts, exuding a personal, tactile charm that matched the ethos of home recording and underground experimentation.
Because they required special trays or adapters to play in most standard CD players, mini CDs remained a niche format. But for a time, they represented a playful and intimate physical medium for sharing sound—perfectly aligned with the DIY spirit. They never flooded the GAJOOB mail bin, but when they arrived, they stood out as tiny artifacts of underground creativity.
