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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
dr-boop
83 posts
 

I'm shocked that no teens are watching videos about five figure adult luxury indulgences.

It's a hobby that appeals to older gentlemen with spare cash. Relax..everyone gets old some time.

rooze's avatar
rooze OP
632 posts
 

@dr-boop 

It's a hobby that appeals to older gentlemen with spare cash. Relax..everyone gets old some time.

Agreed, the concern is that once the current batch of older gentleman kick the bucket there doesn’t seem to be another batch in the pipeline to replace them.

 

devinplombier
107 posts
 

My kid bought himself a Technics turntable on craigslist when he was 17, plugged it into a little system I game him, and he buys vinyl albums that cost more than the turntable.

larrywyoung's avatar
larrywyoung
4 posts
 

There is too much of a push to high cost hardware when good affordable equipment can be made. The young today are too busy paying rent, utilities, buying organic food and electric cars to have the excess cash to spend on stereo hardware. The industry is its own worst enemy. I'd like to buy a new tape deck to take 10 inch reels, but will not spend $10,000 on up for one and we can afford it.

Ag insider logo xs@2x
knownothing
1,575 posts
 

Interesting thread.  I am going to guess that Darko and his “futurefi” channel (that includes reviews of vinyl products) has a different viewership than the OP’s results.

In the 60s and 70s, when the current gray beards were starting out, an amp or a receiver with two wired speakers were the most common way to reproduce whatever came out of your source of choice.  No streaming, no earbuds, no wireless speakers.  Music and musicians were a cultural force, leading a shift in values and perspective for western society.  That placed a high value on the means to listen just as transistors made decent sounding gear widely available, and many of us imprinted on that 2-channel experience and have been refining it with our rising living standards more or less ever since.

Both my 30-something children have 2-channel systems. My son who is in tech has a better “stereo” than I do, and he aspires to continuously improve it and the room where he listens.  He is also deeply knowledgeable about streaming, music servers and headphone gear but also has a very good vinyl playback system anx enjoys collecting high quality pressings.  My daughter started with a vinyl rig that belonged to my father, and I have helped her upgrade it over time.  Her 3 and 4 year olds especially like listening to it, which is why it has only a modest phono cartridge(!!) I have a midfi rig in my office, and my staff in their 20s and 30s love it.

There is hope for music reproduction and a passion for it to persist.  It just won’t look like it has in the past.

kn

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