Leading Manufacturers Illuminate A Segment of Growing Importance
As part of its annual exploration of the pro audio market, The Retailer sat down with three industry executives to learn about the latest technological advances in speaker systems, microphones and recording equipment—and to discover what retailers can do to harness these trends and, most importantly, increase sales.
PA Speaker Systems
When looking at the PA speaker market, Mark Gander, Director of JBL Technology, said he couldn’t help but to notice “the market continues to migrate from passive to powered systems. Seventy-five percent of sales, in dollar volume, are from powered systems.” Although, at one point, powered systems lacked the requisite reliability, causing customers to prefer passive systems where components could be switched out as necessary, “modern designs are proven to be counted on in an integrated system and technological advances mean that you can get good value at a low price.”
Gander noted that although the most dollars are still spent in the $500 to $1,000 price range, users are buying more and more products in the $250 to $500 range as these products become more competitive in the marketplace.
“Models at the lower price point have molded enclosures that are more distinctive looking. They attract an entry-level performer who is interested in having more flair. Products at the higher price point are investment pieces that offer more output and attract the more sophisticated user who wants a more subdued look,” Gander said. “Both areas are expanding, as beginners and long-term users alike want the best performance in the easiest-to-use package at the best value.”
Gander predicts further integration at lower prices in the future, but that’s not to say individual components have lost their place. “Musicians are cost-conscious, so it’s common for them to want to add a single component to their system,” Gander explained, noting that JBL has worked to continually improve its passive lines, as well as its powered systems. In fact, MI retailers can and should embrace both aspects of the speaker market in order to diversify their pro audio business.
“You can sell powered systems to the praise band at the church and then individual components for the church’s sound installation,” he said. “Some stores just worry about giving the lowest price and getting the sale. Others want to add value by giving advice and doing actual system configuration work, not just getting a model number and selling it. It’s all about customer retention and giving the customer what they want.”
Microphones
Microphones have made incredible advances recently, partly as a result of new technologies that have helped meet expanding user needs, as well as in response to an issue that is affecting users at all levels of the marketplace: the ever-increasing limitation of available wireless spectrum.
As Stephen Kohler, Senior Director, Marketing at Shure Inc., explained, “As a result of the recent spectrum changes, which have affected wireless microphone operation, Shure has been able to develop innovative technologies to support our customers in this changing landscape.”
Some of the innovations with which Shure has come up include interference-avoidance technology, where a wireless microphone detects interference and automatically moves to a clear channel without requiring any action from the user. Shure is also currently “working on spectrum-efficiency technology that lets customers operate more microphones in fewer channels,” Kohler said.
As wireless microphones have gotten smarter, they have also become more reliable, to the point where wireless microphone performance characteristics are virtually indistinguishable from those of wired microphones, Kohler said. With that has come an expansion of the use of rechargeable batteries and rechargeable systems, Kohler continued, noting that not only are today’s customers looking to defray the cost of constantly changing alkaline batteries, but they’re also “more aware of the environment and want to be ‘green.’”
Another important innovation, added Kohler, centers on the “new advances in digital audio networking with protocols, such as Dante, that are allowing our customers to seamlessly connect and control our products with other manufacturers’.”
With such rapid changes in technology bringing advances that most didn’t even think possible a decade ago, Kohler feels the microphone market is currently in a period of revolution. “We’re getting to a point where we can do things that, 10 years ago, were ‘blue sky’ ideas. Our dream at that time was to have wireless microphones that take care of themselves and, today, we are basically there,” he said.
Looking forward, he sees the market moving more toward mobile technology, and Shure is working to merge e-commerce with brick-and-mortar retailing to capture the next generation of microphone users.
“The younger generation looks online for information and the next step is how to purchase,” he said. “So, we want to work with our retail partners to facilitate that.”
Studio Monitors
The recording industry is experiencing rapid growth as project studios and commercial applications alike become more advanced. So, even as the technology has pushed down into lower price points, the market remains robust, according to Peter Chaikin, Senior Manager, Recording & Broadcast at JBL.
“A survey of retailers indicates that, in the last year, revenue from studio monitor sales is up 3.5 percent. At the same time, the number of units sold has increased by 16 percent,” he remarked. “That says the average price has dropped and more units are being sold. Those customers will graduate to higher-priced systems as they get more serious, and they’ll invest in more equipment.”
Part of what is driving this growth, Chaikin said, is a renewed interest in sound that’s evidenced by, among other things, the recent resurgence of vinyl. “It indicates that there’s a segment of the market that is interested in the musical experience and enjoying it to the max,” he said. “While consumers largely listen through ear buds, there is also a strong interest in an improved listening experience.”
This trend often pushes the recording professional to invest in better equipment, and pushes manufacturers to continually increase the performance of their products, as “better-quality equipment makes the listening experience more engaging,” Chaikin said. “People are producing a product and know that the customer is listening.”
As the success of studio monitors is so dependent on sound, Chaikin has found that one of the most valuable ways a retailer can convey that concept to potential customers is to distribute videos on Web sites like YouTube. “To distribute a video costs nothing,” he said, “and we love it when a retailer grabs onto a product and markets it in [his or her] own words. They understand the benefits of the products and they communicate that so a layperson can understand. They’re good at telling the story, and customers seek these videos out to learn about the products.”
In conclusion, Chaikin commented, “You can’t underestimate the importance of the relationship between a retailer and an end user. That’s how we will grow new customers.”
[maxbutton id=”10″]