John Devore of DeVore Fidelity on Diversity at AXPONA 2023: "Customers are dying of old age."

Подписаться 4,2 тыс.

Просмотров 3,2 тыс.

50% 1

John Devore of DeVore Fidelity talks about diversity in the audio industry at AXPONA 2023: "It is a real issue. I've been in the industry a very long time, 30 years or so, and throughout that entire 30 years, the industry has talked and talked and talked about trying to diversify the clientele. The retailers are pulling their hair out because they are worried that all their best customers are dying of old age. The manufacturers are wondering how to attract the attention of a younger audience or a female audience."
"Here I am now 30 years later and I find myself now 30 years later and I find myself literally at the center of the bell curve of the audiophile. Here I am in my mid-50's and my white beard sitting here pontificating and mansplaining to the universe about how we should be more diverse. It takes action. If you look at it from the outside, all you see are walls. So you have to figure out a way to have doors in the walls at the very least, if not tear down the walls. It becomes a pro-active act."
"These demo rooms have a playlist of three songs, you know, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton, and they've got some breathy woman singing overly breathy standards. You're not going to attract a new crowd. That's literally bait for middle-aged white men. No young person is going to be able to connect with anything that is going on in that room, regardless of how amazing the equipment is."
"So part of that is recruiting young people, female people, non-white people, to run the rooms. Or be in the companies. It's not about whinging and whining and talking about it. It's about doing it."
DevoreFidelity.com
View more videos on diversity at AXPONA 2023 here: coolcleveland.com/ufAO3
* Michael Fremer on Diversity in the Audio Industry at AXPONA 2023: • Michael Fremer on Dive...
* The Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg on Diversity in High-End Audio: • The Audiophiliac Steve...
* Shanon McKellar of TONEaudio Speaks Out as a Woman in High-End Audio: • Shanon McKellar of TON...
* Grover Neveille of INDULGR Talks Diversity at AXPONA 2023: • Grover Neville of INDU...
* Wendell & Galina Diller Discuss Diversity at AXPONA 2023: • Wendell & Galina Dille...
* Inside the Secret Magnepan Room at AXPONA 2023: • Inside the Secret Magn...
* Stuart George of Cambridge Audio on Diversity at AXPONA 2023: • Stuart George of Cambr...
* Kat Ourlain of Upscale Audio has Something To Say About Diversity: • Kat Ourlian of Upscale...
* Krista Haughey of AudioQuest Talks Frankly About Diversity: • Krista Haughey of Audi...
* Audiophile Thomas Jones Has Some Advice at AXPONA 2023: • Audiophile Thomas Jone...
* John Devore of DeVore Fidelity on Diversity at AXPONA 2023: • John Devore of DeVore ...
* Besflores Nievera of Music Direct Thinks Pushing Diversity Will See “A New Audience Come To Life”: • Besflores Nievera of M...
* Angela Cardas Built a Family-Friendly Retro Room to Attract a Diverse Crowd to AXPONA 2023: • Angela Cardas Built a ...
* Liz Miller, Event Director of AXPONA is Encouraged by the Diversity at AXPONA 2023: • Liz Miller, Event Dire...
* Beatrice Lam of VTL Amplifiers Hopes More Women Will Do Product Development: • Beatrice Lam of VTL Am...
* Nilin Holley & Mikayla Olds, Engineers, at AXPONA 2023: • Nilin Holley & Mikayla...
* Linette Smith of HiFi PiG Doesn’t Need To Be Mansplained To: • Linette Smith of HiFi ...
* Katie Wilson Says Linn Is Not Hiring From the “Old-Boys Club”: • Katie Wilson Says Linn...
* Julie Mullins of Stereophile Has Some Things To Say About Diversity in Audio: • Julie Mullins of Stere...

Опубликовано:

29 июл 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 44

@twx4184 Год назад

Equipment prices over last 10 years have risen past 99% of median incomes levels...it's now a rich man/woman hobby

@60zeller Год назад

Good point on the playlist. I ( old white dude) walk into a room with a fantastic system and I hear an acoustic bass solo and I turn right around.

@nobicubalibre2143 Год назад

well siad!! 👏👏👏👏

@ashleydarnell683 Год назад

I agree a lot with what John said here, especially with music choices at Axpona. My wife and I have attended the show for several years, and we fall a little on the younger side of the age demographics. We both enjoy more mainstream music or classics that everyone has heard. Way too much esoteric music was being played on repeat that nobody wants to hear. Sure, you can use that to compare with other equipment, if you also listen to that at home. It may show off the gear, but we left those rooms quickly if we got bored. We both thought the music selections were worse this year so I don't think the industry is catching on. Last year, there were plenty of vendors willing to hand over tablets/remotes and let us (or others in the room) pick a song. That very rarely was offered this year. I was in one room and a exhibitor said "let's kick this party up a level" and then proceeded to play Aja by Steely Dan. Not criticizing the song per se, but if that is as wild as you are going to get with the selections, maybe you shouldn't be in charge of the music.

@miquifaye Год назад

Refreshing to hear these wise words from John Devore. I would love to visit his shop one day.

@Crmsnraider Год назад

Ooh, I know what companies should be doing to gain diversity in consumer base. I'm just not going to tell anyone, unless some company wants to pay some $ for the info... What he says is close to what the answers should be. But seriously, come seek me out for consultancy. Thanks for sharing *thumbsup*

@smarliechen4015 Год назад

As a relatively young, Asian female, who doesn't work in the industry and participated in this year's Axpona, I kind of agree the opinion of the playlist is definitely something that can be hugely improved. Lots of music this year pains me to stay even under the intention to try to figure out how the system performs. Jazz or classical are specific genres so I'd say they don't really count, but when it comes to the category of mainstream and pop, people would struggle more if everything freezes in the same era. It seems to me that some of the exhibitors do try to make efforts to incorporate different audiences, but I have a feeling that they kind of have a wrong idea of what people actually listen to. (hints, it's not club music. Those are probably for 20ish, but in reality, the younger crowd here are about 30ish) Is getting better playlists the ultimate solution for wider audiences? maybe not, but it'd help! at least you wouldn't chase them away! Imagine if you managed to push away those who are already slightly interested enough to be at the show, how do you expect that novice audience would react even if you got them into the door?

@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461 Год назад

🙋‍♂️WHAT IF EXHIBITORS …let others pick the music to be played while they are there 🤷‍♂️ MUSIC THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH…and details they did not know was there 💚💚💚

@OCDHIFiGuy Год назад

Thanks for caring. I've been in this industry as a Manufacturer for 23 years. Here are my questions. 1. Are we trying to bring diversity to English Fox Hunting ? This Hobby is very much an old man's sport. Don't wax on about Black, Asian, or Gay men. They are all my customers. I will speculate that Asian men are per capita more into hifi than white men. Women and young people you say... this is your concern ? OK. So with more $150K speakers in the market than ever, and young people rejecting the burden of owning "stuff", this market is making a death gasp and going for the Uber wealthy who buy everything in thier life at 10x what's standard level. They could care less about Audio... Women will come to this hobby if they are interested. Nothing is stopping them. This is naturally an old man's sport. Calling it an old "white" man's sport is ridiculous. John saying it's the demo music holding women or young people back is incorrect in my opinion. How can we compare rigs if every room has different music ? The reason it's all the same is for comparison sake. This makes perfect sense. Maybe the chosen music is tired. I agree, but just playing cool demo music will not attract people who have NO IDEA that there's such a thing as an Audio show. It's the show organizers RESPONSIBILITY to bring ROI for manufacturers but they do a HORRIBLE JOB. Or they don't care and want to maximize thier profit in this new world of gouging one another financially. They need to do RADIO and NEWSPAPER promotion in the mainstream media.. it does not take a genius to figure that out.. LOL... it's a SIMPLE fix.. but profit is more important. The solution is proper promotion, not different demo music..lol.

@nekky_7r Год назад

Tell it like it is brother! Such a cool hobby (within reason) that basically nobody knows about.

@mrman7453 Год назад

Newspapers are a thing of the past

@mrman7453 Год назад

All I can say music is music is a Universal Love.

@garrett_m_m Год назад

Good discussion. A lot of the music I heard this year was outdated. I spent 2-3x more time in rooms with more modern music was being played. Bottom line is that these companies can't ignore their future customers.

@Audiorevue Год назад

I agree with mostly everything John has said however we do run into the problem of cost, and I think that's the main driving factor of what this is. You know and it's kind of weird that this factor wasn't mentioned from a gentleman who's cheapest speaker offering cost I think $5,000. I want it comes to race I can't really say I have an opinion per se because I'm 34 and when I got into this hobby at the age of 27, I got into it through an African American man. I used to work at a bike shop and in the evening's I would have the run of the shop and I would play music. One day this customer came in to ask some questions and he noticed there was some Miles Davis playing. Anyway he said did you put that on, and I said yes, and we started talking about jazz and how I've always been a big fan of jazz and we started talking about art Blakey and the messengers and just all kinds of different jazz groups. he eventually said if you really want to hear how that album sounds why don't you come over sometime. Anyway I eventually went over there and the guy had a D'Agostino system with high-end focal speakers and a really nice clear audio turntable. Suffice it to say I was blown away by the sound that I heard and I had never really realized that music could sound that good and really capture you in that way, and I've been into it ever since. So thank you Mr Julius, if you ever read this I'm forever in your debt or not in regards to putting me on the path to beautiful sound.

@francishuang8411 Год назад

Very high barrier of entry into the hobby now. Everything is just so expensive, the younger generation simply cannot afford this hobby. Homes are getting smaller (my region), there's no place to even put a hifi system anymore. Hope to see more speakers like the DeVore O Micros and O Baby An encouraging observation this past few years. The vinyl revival has actually attracted more female into this hobby.

@thebestoffools Год назад

Exactly. I doubt the people working at DeVore even make enough money to get into this rich people's hobby themselves. Times have changed. Everything has gotten so expensive. HiFi is even more a luxury than it was. I can't see how fresh out of college or university kids starting in their life would prioritize HiFi when they barely earn enough money to pay the rent. Not everyone is rich enough to buy a $3000 pair of speakers. That comes later in life for the majority. Also, there are so much more hobbies and things to do nowadays compared to when I was young. We pretty much only had music, TV, going to movies and play sports when I was young. These days kids and young adults have so many options. Active music listening sessions spent sitting down for any period of time in front of a stereo system is just not that important to the newer generations. With this being said, I think DeVore speakers are insanely good. And if I have the money, I'd probably buy a pair. 🤷😄

@mrman7453 Год назад

Its always room . I had my first set in my bedroom as a teenager.

@jctai100 Год назад

Something maybe Axpona could do in future shows is maybe have a ladies night (free admission) like on the Monday. Rooms are usually more dialed in at that point but I'm sure exhibitors are also exhausted. It could be optional for some brands if they care to stay an extra day.

@chronometa Год назад

This stuff is mostly a socioeconomic issue. Regardless of race or gender it's mostly the same age. Most older people have the extra income for this stuff. I'm pretty sure studies actually show that trying to force diversity is not the way vs making an environment that breeds it is where it's at. More diversity in price and music is the key.

@mrman7453 Год назад

Not really . I always made it a point to a decent piece of stereo equipment . I remember instead of going to the clubs on Friday and Saturday I preferred buying a 10 pack cassettes from Uncle Steve's and making tapes . Working overtime and buying my Akai gx7 3 head deck.

@timleelim9930 Год назад

I fully agree with John when it comes to the women (real ones, depending on what is a real woman to one), but not when it comes to young people and "non-white people" if the question is asked on a more global scale than just in a middle America context. Go to an audio show in Taipeh, Tokyo or Bangkok, and all of a sudden, the "white people" issue disappears. But the old fart men who are on or approaching their last legs issue doesn't. You don't see young people because their influences are different. They are into headphones and desktop listening and their amplifiers for passive speakers, if they choose to get any, are mostly lower cost chip-based Class D amps from can you guess where? And those can sound really rather good too! Those in business in the "high end high price" category have their jobs cut out for them indeed, but the market for great sounding gear will always be there. As for a playlist curated by a younger person for these shows, it will not work as well as letting the young person who attends choose to play his or her music of choice. C'mon, it's the age of streaming and there is nothing that cannot be played at the drop of a hat. "I'm sorry, we don't have that album by that artiste" is a twentieth century issue.😅

@lydiapawlak8564 Год назад

Customers ARE dying of old age, and HiFi will likely go away, except headphones and turntables, for young people plugging them into their computers as well... That's it! Not much and will likely be just big box stores, will only exist for audio.

@petez4608 Год назад

Really like John Devore. He is a little younger than the majority of the people at these shows and the people who can buy the stuff probably skew a little older. I’m certainly not young(white, 4:33 early 40’s) and I see a more diversity coming in my friends, women, non binary, all races. Not sure if we’ll ever buy 100k systems. Maybe 10-15k systems. Thanks!

@mrman7453 Год назад

Well said but the gatekeepers killed diversity. I am around the same age as John. I remember going into Stereo Exchange ,Harveys and Innovative Audio never ever being welcomed . Later in life older with a bit money the same treatment on the North Shore of Long Island . The industry killed itself .

@OCDHIFiGuy Год назад

The old "Arrogant Prick" audio seller attitude... you nailed it.

@mrman7453 Год назад

Can the hi end stores stop playing the same monotone deep breathing music . I want to hear what I listen to at home . Gregory Porter, Marvin Gaye , Donny Hathaway,Dr .Dre , and Navana .

@holytiger89 Год назад

hahaha i agree with john here

@elliotg.5383 Год назад

The issue is not about what music is played. The Industry has done a horrible job of educating their consumers period.The entire marketing campaigns for the last 40 plus years is the same old stuff. Magazines and reviews, Why would that encourage anyone new? how would they even see it? They don't. If you want customers you need to promote to new customers. Almost everyone likes music so maybe show them how to enjoy it more. Hearing is not listening and the "listening to music" part of the audio business has gotten mixed up with the comparing gear part. Best example - Apple got into the watch business, was there aim to sell thier watches to those who own Rolex and Patek? No it was to sell watches to a huge group that would never care about Rolex. Audio needs to do the same thing shift their focus and spend their money better.

@mrman7453 Год назад

Exactly the brainwashing that Apple has done . Education is key . I am in the process of teaching my 20 something year old about sound quality not marketing . Beats and Apple headphones versus Bose and Sony .

@axelwunsch2366 Год назад

Real Words John🍀

@quant2011 10 месяцев назад

John is 100% right. Play some funky music for God sakes!!!! Bjork, Nirvana, Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode, Los Karkiks, Shaggy, Prince , Sandra, Technotronic. In other words move from 50s to 90s . I agree that post 2000 music mostly sucks.

@twx4184 Год назад

I agree 100%..the music at these shows is so so so boring and predictable

@lorddarphyve Год назад

It's been my observation as a relatively young person both entering the hobby and the industry of Hi-Fi that the demographics are changing all by themselves. New and different people are joining Hi-Fi all the time. As John pointed out there are still walls and they do need to be torn down. The two big ones I see are the skyrocketing prices and the objectification of women. Work to fix these two things and the rest will fall into place.

@mitchparker7652 Год назад

Maybe John could ask his female workers to design a speaker from the ground up.

@TheDanEdwards Год назад

"Maybe John could ask his female workers to design a speaker from the ground up." - you don't think they can do it?

@mitchparker7652 Год назад

@@TheDanEdwards you’ve wilfully misunderstood me.

@TheDanEdwards Год назад

@@mitchparker7652 " you’ve wilfully misunderstood me." - no, I'm asking you to clarify an intentionally ambiguous comment on your part.

@jaemierobinson3169 Год назад

Please stop with the wacky camera angle tricks. It makes me nauseous. TY. Love Devore.

@SnackAttack77 Год назад

Y'all are talking about diversity in SPEAKERS.....SPEAKERS FFS. Insanity.

@jordenb9469 Год назад

Sorry John. You will be out of business in a year max. People won't be able to afford to eat let alone worry about some luxury stereo system.

@adambrown8867 Год назад

Go woke go broke.

@DrimbleWedge Год назад

You seem to miss the main point of diversity is to broaden the customer base. And as they’re pointing out, old white dudes who listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan are dying… if you don’t replace the customer base, there won’t be a HIFI industry… because they’ll go broke

@miquifaye Год назад

Most useless reply so far