HARMAN Luxury Update

by Dave Tovissi
Vice President and General Manager, HARMAN Luxury Audio

Did you know that in five years there will be a major transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers to those we commonly refer to as Xennials and Millennials? These generations will account for the majority of consumer spending world-wide. Economists predict that by 2026, they will represent over 65 percent of luxury consumer purchases.

When it comes to premium entertainment services, the younger generations have been exposed to the benefits of higher bandwidth for searching the Internet and the enhanced viewing experience of watching their favorite programming in High Definition. Research tells us that these consumers are willing to pay more for premium entertainment service offerings. Research also states that over 60 percent of today’s younger consumers are paying more for audio components than their parents did on average. While they want to tap into Hi-Res audio, unfortunately they are still streaming their music in compressed formats.

Why do you think that’s the case? Could it be that they have never heard the difference? Could it be that they don’t even know the difference? These generations have been listening to compressed music since birth. They grew up watching videos on their phone and listening on inexpensive headphones.

So what are we going to do about this dilemma?

Introducing new audio formats to consumers has always been up to the industry and the press. Back in the 1950s the industry was introducing FM radio to the market as a better way to listen to music over the air. Now, I firmly believe that it’s up to us, as audio professionals, to introduce younger people to the benefits of lossless Hi-Res audio – both for streaming and for playback. Next month, at the ProSource Summer Conference, the Harman Luxury Audio Group will be launching our first ever, premium all-in-one music solution from JBL. Catering to music enthusiasts who prefer convenience and space over the complexity of traditional audio systems, we are anticipating a lot of interest from the Gen-Z consumer. We have engineered this exciting, evolutionary audio component to leverage all the great content offered by Hi-Res music services. To help expose these new customers to all that great content, we are partnering with Qobuz to include a 90-day subscription for anyone who purchases this new music system. We know once they hear the difference, they will appreciate the engineering that went into making this innovative new product and share that with their friends and colleagues.

By the way, this month’s Tech Talk is written by David Solomon, Vice President and Chief Hi-Res Music Evangelist from Qobuz. Please check it out. We are excited to partner with companies like Qobuz and Roon to enhance the listener’s experience of our great products. We encourage you to do your part to introduce and demonstrate the benefits of lossless audio in your showrooms and have these conversations with your younger clients. They are thirsty for what we have to offer and it’s only a matter of pressing the play button to capture their attention.

Remember to take the Roon training course and pass the quiz to get your free subscription to Roon as well, and start to think about the fantastic business opportunities you’ll be enjoying as we bring a new form factor to market that captures the grandeur and passion we all feel for music. Become a music evangelist and tap into a huge market segment that is ready for what we have to offer.