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YouTube Indicates What the Future is For Audiophiles - Interesting Demographics.

Howdy,

I just wanted to share some data from YouTube as I found it quite eye-opening and thought some of you might too.

I've posted a couple vids on YouTube recently and, as some will know, YouTube provides analytics data with every video, which is available to the channel owner.

The first video featured a Krell KSA 80 amp and at the time of writing this there have been 9,500 views:

Female - 0%
Male - 100%

13–17 years 0%
18–24 years 0%
25–34 years 0%
35–44 years 0.9%
45–54 years 13.5% 
55–64 years 44.4%
65+ years 41.3%

So, 100% male, and pretty much all of the traffic is from guys 45 years old and above, with 40%+ from guys over 65!!

The second video was a spoof (song) on Audiophiles that was shared a lot and watched by a lot of audiophile spouse, so the stats were slightly different, but not much. At the time of writing, 18,150 views:

Female 2.4%
Male 97.6%

13–17 years 0%
18–24 years 0%
25–34 years 0%
35–44 years 5.9%
45–54 years 18.6%
55–64 years 35.5%
65+ years 40.1%

The video was watched by a few females because it was shared and hit with a slightly younger audience but not by much. For all intents and purposes, the stats are the same for both vids.

Caveat - YouTube tends to attract an older audience and it's tipped up towards males. TikTok would show different results, but I think YouTube is really the platform of choice for most of us, so the data is more pertinent. 

Conclusion - we're a dying breed. 40% of us will be dead in a few years and there's not many 'yoots' coming through to replace us.

No real surprise here but we're all blokes - old, fat, sweaty, bearded, and about to kick the proverbial bucket. (Yes, I'm speaking entirely for myself).

Do you think there's more that manufacturers, dealers, reviewers etc. should be doing, or is it just the inevitable playing out?

Thoughts?

Here's the link to the two vids for reference: 
Krell KSA80
The Audiophile Song

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chenry's avatar
chenry
186 posts
 

Jay Iyagi addresses a very specific audience, younger people already into hifi with a fair amount of money to spend on audio. His reference gear is esoteric and expensive. It would even be difficult to find a dealer who carried the things he reviews (Serbian-made SET monoblock tube amps using very rare and high-powered tubes, etc.) He speaks to a dedicated collector audience; he isn't directed at new users at all.

barts's avatar
barts
713 posts
 

I think the good stuff will continue to be made for at least another fifty years at which point something completely foreign to us will technologically appear same with flat screen TVs, laser holography anyone?  Yes, there will "nearly" always be tinkerers and collectors of the older good stuff.

I believe the dearth of welcoming high-end audio brick and mortar audio stores only adds to the nonengagement of younger persons.  How many of us curiously found our way into one and was knocked out by what we heard?

That's how I started at fourteen.  More than five decades later still going.

Regards,

barts

 

grislybutter
2,994 posts
 

cheapaudioman is a hack, an entertainer. Watch him at your own risk. 

jpan
126 posts
 

Streaming, free or by subscription, is one of the last nails in the audiophile coffin. It changed, forever, the dynamics of music listening in a set environment.  

The world of 2CH audiophiles is gone and it’s not coming back.

Headphones are a different story. Way different demographic and energy at events, showrooms, forums and even reviews. I find it refreshing. (And I don’t even own a pair of cans. Yet.) 

OTH, there is something to what Devon/OJAS is doing. I really like his approach to freeing things up and getting more people to listen. It’s a different aesthetic and approach. I don’t think it changes much but it’s good to see.

devinplombier
116 posts
 

Characterize audio as a "hobby" and it will surely die. Folks starting families and careers don't have time for hobbies. But almost all love music, and many care about it being accurately presented.

So it's fairly easy to envision a bright future for audio. Dutch & Dutch and the like will thrive because they're a painless impulse purchase on BNPL when you're 25 and make $200K, they're uber-simple to stream Qobuz to, and they're an absolute pleasure to look at and listen to. Meanwhile, massive separate components and the amulets and gris-gris that are thought indispensable to squeeze the last drop of audiophile bliss out of them will end up on craigslist for pennies, and kids who can't afford Dutch & Dutch and the like will snag them and tinker with them and marvel at how good they sound and share them on social and a new generation of enthusiasts will be born.

 

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