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

@alexatpos 

Who listens that  music or music from those times,anymore (among young folks) ? Jazz? Are you kidding me? Classical music is only enjoyed by the ones who had some education about it (again among younger folks) So, no wonder that less and less people care about gear...they have nothing to listen on it, even if they would get it for free...imho

That's a sad indictment of the younger generation. I don't disagree with you but isn't it another sign that WE have failed the youth of today? We've allowed this to happen under our watch...maybe? I remember music being played all the time in my home growing up. The TV would get turned off (because there were only 3 channels back then and it was cr*p!!), and a record would be played on the big tube console. It was a family affair... of course the first world war slowed us down a bit..lol

Agree with both posters above. What’s depressing to me is the rate at which it’s going to happen, judging from those age stats. Does anyone think the industry at large could do more to appeal to younger generations and also to the multiple genders that aren’t male :)   ?

@stuartk Thanks, I wasn’t ’looking’ for anything, I was just sharing some specific data that’s a day old and hasn’t been shared before.

My questions were whether or not manufacturers, dealers etc. could do more to try and address these issues, and to support a concern with some actual data that’s fresh. It’s rhetorical in a sense, I know about the issues, I’ve been involved in the debates about the downward trends, etc. I just wish there were some new initiative, that’s all.

Also, I think most topics around here have been discussed more than once in the past :) and I think this one deserves to be brought back to the surface every once in a while, with some relevant and up to date data and feedback. I guess people are free to chime in or not.

@onhwy61 - I have. Several. In fact, the second video for which I showed the stats in the OP was a trendier and more modern video, actually a song set to a soft rap beat. I was hoping to catch a younger more diverse audience with that, but I didn’t as you can see from the stats. 50% of all the traffic to that video came from external audiophile forums, Facebook high-end groups etc. And with the internal YouTube traffic, the ’audiophile’ theme dominated the search terms used to find the video in YT search, and the videos chosen automatically by YT from which to suggest it to new viewers.

So it’s the same basic set of stats for two very different vids. As soon as you mention ’audiophile’ or ’high-end audio’, all the old blokes come out to play. It’s always been our problem, connecting with the younger crowds, and with women, but in the past we’ve somehow managed to keep replenishing the pool. Now, it looks like nothing new is coming through...

PS - I think the portable Bluetooth loudspeaker demographic are doing okay, they're not the focus here, but are certainly the present and future.

@tkrtrb125 

This demographic probably has not changed in 75 years. Just a fact that all the old farts have the time and money for this pursuit. A young man ain’t got nothing in the world these days. 

Amen to that.. 

@kennymacc 

I wish that all the old mediums from the past: CD, reel to reel, cassette, turn tables, and even 8 track, would make a huge comeback, and would also somehow start to resonate with the young on a much higher level, just to see the high end audio industry return to it's former glory!!!!  Happy listening.   

Thanks for your thoughtful post. I particularly appreciated the snippet above. I think there's a lot to be said for physical media ownership. I think in some small way it also drives the quality of the music, which is one of the big issues in all of this (as you mentioned earlier in your post). Buying an album used to be an experience beyond the actual music, and you don't get that to the same extent these days. 

I remember bringing home 'A Trick of the Tail' for the first time, and 'News of the World'. You have to think that a band who would put so much energy into the production of their artwork might also invest similarly in the creation of their music?

Cheers

PS - I'm old and senile but I never said in the OP that any of this was new or hot off the press.

I like what Devon Turnbull of OJAS is doing. He’s the guy making avantgarde horn systems and electronics and partnering with art galleries to produce functional art-audio installations. He’s successfully connecting with a younger crowd who appreciate art, aesthetics, creativity, and functional minimalism. He’s ‘selling’ an experience, versus flogging expensive ‘stuff’. It’s an interesting concept and a novel approach. He’s young (relatively), cool, and talented. Versus the typical audio manufacturer who’s stereotypically older, bald and boring.

He won’t save the industry but it will never die completely so long as people keep finding creative ways in which to keep us alive.

Also, a nod to Linn Audio - they were an audiophile manufacturer for decades then made a conscious switch to ‘lifestyle products’. Again, a strong emphasis on aesthetics blended with practical and functional design. While it’s still audiophile at heart it attracts a different audience, younger, more interested in convenience, aesthetics. I think Linn and a few others saw the writing on the wall. 
Maybe it won’t be a death it will just be a morphing into another form. 
 

@cdc I think cheapaudioman’s demographic would look quite different. He focuses more on lower priced mass-produced consumer electronics and I’d suspect his audience would be younger, though still largely male. Jay Iagi too would likely have a younger audience.

Cheers

@jon_5912 

Hi.. I doubt more than a handful of people under 50 know what a KSA80 is. If you look at the OP there are two videos referenced, the second targeting a younger audience. I did it that way because they represent the two extremes of age groups that the channel draws on. But the stats for both are roughly the same. That was the point of picking out those two videos. I’ve also done vids on REL Carbon Special subs, Dr. Feickert turntables etc, and the stats are the same. As soon as you get relatively high-end, the demographics become fairly predictable.

I said in another post that cheapaudioman’s stats would probably look a lot different. He doesn’t hit the higher end crowd, his stuff is more affordable so reaches a broader audience that includes younger people.

I wasn’t claiming anything definitive about the stats I showed. Though I do think it’s probably a fair reflection of where the high end is at.

There have been some interesting comments in this thread. Thanks again to folks who have chimed in with a variety of comments and opinion.

A nicely written article referencing this thread and quoting some of you:

https://www.headphonesty.com/2024/09/audiophiles-gone-soon/

@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.

@seanheis1 

Yes Krell is for old farts. There were two videos with contrasting appeal referenced in the OP for that reason. I guess we take away what we want to take away.

In general, I’m excited that there are people appealing to a younger demographic on social media. There’s nothing more fun as an audiophile to have a younger person experience your system and appear to ‘get it’ at some level. 
 

@2serious 

I like all of this:

With the exceptional rise in prices of gear over the last decade that has outpaced inflation by good margin, I think we are seeing the future unfold.  Manufactures are seeking to obtain profit from fewer, albeit wealthier, enthusiasts.   What are they to do?  Gear is made more “extreme” to justify the necessarily higher prices.  Does it sound better?  Probably.  Are there good value propositions to be found?  Not up at the extreme high end IME.  But those with deep pockets and ears to follow gratefully oblige.  As the customer base shrinks, the prices (and gear) will become more extravagant.  And manufacturers will die off with the customer base… to a point.  Some will certainly last.  But the landscape will absolutely look very different in 30 years, as it should.

Perhaps the silver lining is that with change, unexpected improvements can be appreciated.  The general tone of this thread is negative but thinking in a more forward direction, perhaps there are elements of today’s audiophile society that limit growth and improvement in sound reproduction.  What I’m interested in is if we can manage to create some ingenuity and end up with 90% of the sound quality, 20% of the complexity and 10% of the cost of today’s best systems.  That will never happen if all we do is continue to aspire to own systems that cost as much as a house and weigh as much as a car.  Perhaps we should welcome a little change.  

Not exactly sure what you meant here: "perhaps there are elements of today’s audiophile society that limit growth and improvement in sound reproduction."

@seanheis1 Age seems to shift with cost while gender stays the same. I don’t think any of this surprises anyone. A few people early on commented to the effect “tell us something new”. My point and the reason for posting was to discuss what, if anything, could be done differently to attract a younger audience. We already know from the stats that lower prices bring a younger age group. That’s the point well made by a few people and is pretty obvious. I mentioned people like Devon Turnbull from OJAS who had an interesting way of marketing his business, using social media to connect with a younger audience. There’s more to be had from his methods.

Otherwise I’m not really losing any sleep over this, I’m too old to care too much about something that isn’t going to cause any wars or end the planet. My place in it all is that it’s been a hobby for over 45 years. I like the gear and music in fairly equal measures and I like dropping the occasional post on my blog or the occasional video on the socials. If, as some have suggested, this is a societal issue, another sign that the gap in wealth is growing and being concentrated more among an ever decreasing percentage of the population, then that’s a sad indictment of where we’re all at.

Ooooo another cable thread is breaking out… 

@jssmith I think you know that I was espousing a certain concept relating to parenting in general. One of my favorite bands growing up was Rush. (They still are) I know what loud music is. Raising kids and role models is something for another forum. 

@jssmith 

Why? They obviously aren't interested. 

Then we should make them interested. Why? Because it’s good for them. In the same way that reading a book is good for them. With two thirds of kids diagnosed ADHD, perhaps a little less stimulation from video games, TV, phone screens, etc, and something a little more calming, cerebral, thought evoking. Or can’t we show kids the way anymore? Is it all up to them?