Interesting thread! The number of well-thought responses indicates true passion for our hobby. I'll chime in with a few thoughts.
- I believe that there is NO short-term answer/fix to the dilemna the industry is currently facing. The combination of a miserable economy combined with the younger generations' apathy towards quality sound is the equivalent of a KO delivered by Mike Tyson (in his prime!).
- It isn't just the gear that's doing poorly, I read somewhere recently that the overall sales of music is worse than ever. Downloading music isn't the only reason but it's a big part of it. From reading other info from the other music sites I hang out at, I know for a fact that the average music artist doesn't consider CD's as a source of income anymore. This is key. The artists that make them consider them to be promotional tools for their live performances, some don't see them as anything more than a replacement for a business card! And this from the average artist that's kinda/sorta making it, I've read blogs from other very talented musicians stating that the financial bottom line of making a CD is so daunting that they don't think they'll be releasing any new music! While we, as gear lovers, are lamenting the state of the audio equipment industry, I think as music lovers, the situation is even MORE alarming.
- The saving of this industry lies with the ability to get the younger listeners on board, period. If this isn't done, 10-20 yrs from now people will be recalling THIS time as the 'good ol' days'. Obviously, before an interest in gear can be cultivated, an interest in music has to exist. When I was a kid, I HAD to go to glee club, music history was taught in my elementary school in the south Bronx. Opera, Classical, broadway plays were basically forced upon us and while I didn't particularly care for this stuff when I was a kid, I couldn't be more thankful for this now. The Arts must be re-instated in all schools at the elementary school levels.
- It was mentioned previously about how the industry is basically selling to the same customers on a rotational basis. This industry has never been able to figure out how to properly market itself. The question's been asked so many times over the years that I wonder if there's truly an answer. One thing that I've always wondered was why I never saw much advertising for gear in music magazines. Whenever I'd see an ad it would be this tiny unobtrusive thing in the back of the mag that probably only caught the eyes of people who were already into audio. If that was the goal, than mission accomplished. I think the bar nees to be set higher, way higher. I understand advertising costs vs. the economy but there's another thread ('twins' I think) showing how many famous audio companies are actually owned by a larger conglomerate. Hard to believe that some of those companies can't have larger advertising budgets than they do. Going back to my original point about ad placement, I would go where the music-lovers go, to the music magazines (perhaps ads in mags like Hightimes wouldn't be such a bad idea!).
- Lastly, I'd be interested in hearing about how the industry's doing in place other than the U.S. A few years ago, while in Italy, I bought an Italian audio mag out of curiosity and was struck by the preponderance of audio manufacturers there,companies I'd never heard of. England always seemed to have a greater awareness of audio and also has quite a few manufacturers and the orient also seemed to have quite a fever for audio. I understand that we face a world-wide economy crisis but I still wonder about the status of audio worldwide.
- I believe that there is NO short-term answer/fix to the dilemna the industry is currently facing. The combination of a miserable economy combined with the younger generations' apathy towards quality sound is the equivalent of a KO delivered by Mike Tyson (in his prime!).
- It isn't just the gear that's doing poorly, I read somewhere recently that the overall sales of music is worse than ever. Downloading music isn't the only reason but it's a big part of it. From reading other info from the other music sites I hang out at, I know for a fact that the average music artist doesn't consider CD's as a source of income anymore. This is key. The artists that make them consider them to be promotional tools for their live performances, some don't see them as anything more than a replacement for a business card! And this from the average artist that's kinda/sorta making it, I've read blogs from other very talented musicians stating that the financial bottom line of making a CD is so daunting that they don't think they'll be releasing any new music! While we, as gear lovers, are lamenting the state of the audio equipment industry, I think as music lovers, the situation is even MORE alarming.
- The saving of this industry lies with the ability to get the younger listeners on board, period. If this isn't done, 10-20 yrs from now people will be recalling THIS time as the 'good ol' days'. Obviously, before an interest in gear can be cultivated, an interest in music has to exist. When I was a kid, I HAD to go to glee club, music history was taught in my elementary school in the south Bronx. Opera, Classical, broadway plays were basically forced upon us and while I didn't particularly care for this stuff when I was a kid, I couldn't be more thankful for this now. The Arts must be re-instated in all schools at the elementary school levels.
- It was mentioned previously about how the industry is basically selling to the same customers on a rotational basis. This industry has never been able to figure out how to properly market itself. The question's been asked so many times over the years that I wonder if there's truly an answer. One thing that I've always wondered was why I never saw much advertising for gear in music magazines. Whenever I'd see an ad it would be this tiny unobtrusive thing in the back of the mag that probably only caught the eyes of people who were already into audio. If that was the goal, than mission accomplished. I think the bar nees to be set higher, way higher. I understand advertising costs vs. the economy but there's another thread ('twins' I think) showing how many famous audio companies are actually owned by a larger conglomerate. Hard to believe that some of those companies can't have larger advertising budgets than they do. Going back to my original point about ad placement, I would go where the music-lovers go, to the music magazines (perhaps ads in mags like Hightimes wouldn't be such a bad idea!).
- Lastly, I'd be interested in hearing about how the industry's doing in place other than the U.S. A few years ago, while in Italy, I bought an Italian audio mag out of curiosity and was struck by the preponderance of audio manufacturers there,companies I'd never heard of. England always seemed to have a greater awareness of audio and also has quite a few manufacturers and the orient also seemed to have quite a fever for audio. I understand that we face a world-wide economy crisis but I still wonder about the status of audio worldwide.
