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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
jssmith
321 posts
 

@rooze 

My point and the reason for posting was to discuss what, if anything, could be done differently to attract a younger audience.

Why? They obviously aren't interested. They have too many other sources of entertainment that us old guys didn't have (and with AI that will increase exponentially), so they have no nostalgic connection to audio and no compulsion to sit and stare at two big boxes. So I don't see the reason to try to make them interested when by all empirical and logical evidence there is no chance of that happening. Yeah, I know it can be fun to get other people to share your interests, but maybe we should adapt to sharing theirs. Heck, with all the sources of entertainment out there I hardly listen to music anymore as a primary activity. I'm sitting here typing this while watching a podcast. Yeah, I know if it dies us old guys won't be able to stay on the acquisition syndrome merry-go-round, but that's probably a good thing anyway. There will still be niche companies for the addicted. Heck, there are still companies that sell buggy whips.

rooze's avatar
rooze OP
638 posts
 

@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? 

audition__audio
1,494 posts
 

Not enough money to be made to attempt a campaign of any sort to enlighten the youngsters. 

Hey squared80, I would agree with you if you were right. Please tell us about your numerous comparisons between cables which prompted this opinion.

Science my a**.

devinplombier
158 posts
 

something a little more calming, cerebral, thought evoking.

You should listen to Death Grips or Chat Pile sometimes

Or can’t we show kids the way anymore? Is it all up to them?

Yep. You can take a horse to the water, but you can't make it drink. Same as it ever was

jssmith
321 posts
 

@rooze 

Calming?! The music young people listen to has never been calming. My first album was Black Sabbath. The song that turned me into an audiophile was Edgar Winter's Frankenstein. Hardly calming. Nor is it usually thought provoking. You ever listen to rap or pop music? They aren't going to listen to what you like. If I wanted to provoke calmness and thought I'd give them a great book. In the general scheme of things music is just not that important. And this coming from someone who has a lifelong obsession with music and played guitar for almost 40 years. I'd be much happier if my kids were into sports because fitness is way more important for your life than music.

Even back in my day, when your choices were three TV channels or audio I could count on half a hand how many of my friends were serious music listeners. If you don't have the gene, you're just not going to be interested in the activity. My brother and I grew up in the same household. I'm obsessed with music and he has zero interest in it. And our father played guitar, violin, banjo and accordion, so we heard music all the time. And I never liked what my father liked.

Except for video games the kids today have way more opportunity to benefit from entertainment than I did. They've got an encyclopedia, stereo, documentary source, books and a How-to guide on anything right in their pocket.

More to discover