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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

128x128rooze
waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff
1,079 posts
 

Muscle Cars and Street Rods.  Very similar demographics.

waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff
1,079 posts
 

Literally cannot give away good examples of quality audio gear I’ve been saving for the grandkids.

moonwatcher
412 posts
 

In 30 more years, most of us will be dead. Then will the main discussions on forums similar to this be a bunch of old farts discussing how much they loved playing certain video games and all the intricacies they discovered along the way of playing those games for thousands of hours, while eating pizza, drinking beer, and pissing off their girlfriends? Will anyone lament their passing too?

Times change, hobbies change. Music is enough of a human endeavor to continue whether people sit around listening to it at home or not. There will hopefully always be those who appreciate a good concert, whether a classical symphony or some chick singing and playing her guitar. Music existed as an art long before any electronics came along to allow us to hear it in the comfort of an easy chair.

I do think the industry better wake up and smell the coffee and do more education (outreach) among the young regarding good sound quality and push more headphone listening which fits better into smaller homes, while offering levels of sound quality at a mere fraction of the cost of a speaker system.

coltrane1's avatar
coltrane1
715 posts
 

I think it’s rather fitting that us older generation is leading the way on YouTube. It’s also fitting that the music dies with us since we were exposed to the greatest music ever recorded from the 60’s to the 80’s. Don’t you think? The younger generation listens to all of the crap from today and think it’s an actual hit. Not me. I still listen to everything from the 60’s to the 80’s because that was real music and we were very privileged to have grown up with it!

moonwatcher
412 posts
 

Just a wondering thought. Since we all agree this industry is being supported by a bunch of long in the tooth guys, not all of this gear being marketed will ever be sold. So, what happens to it? I mean like how many Klipsch, Fyne Audio, Tannoy, Spendor, or even high end stuff like Wilson Audio speakers are sitting out there and won’t be sold? And other gear too, preamps, amps, turntables, etc. Do they just keep them forever collecting dust in a warehouse? Do they destroy them, ship them to underserved poor countries, cannibalize them for parts? Just curious what happens to all this stock of "stuff", not even counting all the stuff that will be sold for peanuts at estate sales when we kick the bucket, or God forbid, end up in a landfill. [Edit: Just now saw SNS’s similar post]

I do want to note that at least from watching some other YouTube videos, there is a decent market among younger people (20 to 40) buying used gear. This seems to be prevalent in the U.K. The issue with this of course is that someone buying used isn’t really supporting the manufacturer and that sale isn’t ever reflected in the market, just like those who buy used LPs and CDs, which doesn’t help the artist or label.

BTW, I see Crutchfield has the Bluesound Node as of today for $349. Guess WiiM is hurting their sales or maybe Bluesound have something else coming soon.

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