Who are consuming headphones and why?

The boom of the headphone market made me wonder … who are actually buying headphones and why such an increase for the last years on this market?

To begin with, the increasing use of mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets … has strongly contributed to this new demand for headphones. The recent repurchase of the company Beats by Apple is perfectly illustrating the link between those devices. Indeed, one of the reasons why Apple bought Beats is to sell products combining Beats headphones with Apple items.

 And who are mainly consuming mobile devices? Young people!  In France for instance, almost one out of three young persons (16-34 yo) own a tablet, which makes them the best equipped population; and the situation is similar regarding smartphones.  Thus, young people are also representing the main part of headphones owners, which has been demonstrated through a NPD study: " People under 24 are really making up a huge share of those buyers" said Ben Arnold, director of industry analysis.

This observation brought me to another question : why are young people and headphones consumers in general buying such premium devices?

The main reason is the search for good sound quality. Indeed, one the one hand, earphones sold with mobile devices (mobile phones, mp3 players, etc.) are usually not very qualitative and do not meet customers demand anymore. And, on the other hand, people tend to listen to more and more music thanks to these mobile devices: in the street, at the office or when they are doing sport for instance. Thus, this new way to consume music everywhere is at the heart of the search for quality. According to a study provided by NPD in 2013, 85% of headphone buyers are looking for this criterion.

Besides, a new phenomenon appeared in 2012 and has led to this strong increase of headphone consumption: the headphone has become a fashion accessory!

Indeed, wearing a headphone is now part of the look. People are more and more wearing their headphone around their neck as an accessory.

On the one hand, designs of headphones are constantly improved by brands to meet customer expectations. In fact, you can find headphones of all colors, different shapes, etc. which makes these items real fashion accessories.

On the other hand, this new trend has been launched by some celebrities, which have strongly influenced the consumption for headphones. The artist Dr Dre is at the heart of this fashion trend. This rapper created the Beats by Dr Dre in collaboration with the firm Monster, a range of headphones which has strongly impacted the market. The headphone has then become the symbol of a community with its own values. Famous endorsements such as Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber have also reinforced this symbol.

It is not just about music anymore, headphones are a tool for integration, especially among young people! Brands have succeeded in creating new needs to encourage the consumption for headphones.

Hope you enjoyed this article!

See U next time ;)

Sources : 

http://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/beats-electronics-apple-realise-le-plus-gros-achat-de-son-histoire-39800913.htm

http://www.dealerscope.com/article/on-headphones-key-executives-reveal-sales-dealer-strategies/1

http://www.prixtel.com/decouvrir-PRIXTEL/actualite/communiques/etude-prixtel-ipsos-usages-forfait-tablette-france/

http://www.blackenterprise.com/technology/npd-group-analyst-ben-arnold-talks-high-tech-headphones-tablets-and-ultrabooks/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/29/popular-headphones_n_5360641.html

The Products in the Market

Last time, we have already given you a brief introduction of the headphone market. Today, we are going to show you more about the headphones themselves.

Every person has his own demands about headphones: some like those with outstanding design while others may prefer great performance. There is no denying that people of this modern age are becoming more and more particular about the audio.

This year, the TIME website has listed the 18 headphone brands from worst to best and has given each of them a score. The three brands which we talked about last time are all in this list: Beats by Dr. Dre, Bose and Shure.

Before the introduction to the specific products, allow me to show you some characteristics about headphones: different types, the technology they use, the design and the quality.

Every day, people wearing headphones can be seen everywhere. They can be students who take a bus or may be some joggers who run on the road. While the headphones brands have various names for the types, there are generally these types of headphones on the market: earphones, in-ear headphones, wireless/Bluetooth headphones and over-ear headphones. Functionally divided, they can be noise cancelling headphones, mobile headsets and sports headphones. Even, they can be segmented to different styles: DJ/studio style headphones, fashion headphones, etc.

These three ways of segments of headphones can be combined. Like the type of sport headphones, they are always compatible with the smartphones and can be either in-ear or headphones. By the way, more and more brands are producing headphones going with smartphones because of the booming of the smartphone market.

Facing so many headphones in a store, do people understand the features written on the small cards? Why are some headphones so expensive? Here comes the core of the headphone market: the technology of headphones. Normally, there are two types of headphones on the market: moving-coil headphones and moving-iron headphones. Moving-coil driver is one unit while moving-iron driver can be more than one unit, even to four. These two types can easily be distinguished by the prices. Because the moving-iron driver is newly used in making the headphones and it can bring respectful sounds of quality, the moving-iron headphones are much more expensive than the moving-coil ones. Since this is all about marketing, the third type was created: hybrid headphones. This type is made with both moving-coil driver and moving-iron driver and is targeted within the medium price range.

Different people have different personalities. It is the same with the headphones. They have various appearances and are designed to be more than headphones. They can come in all colourways and be decorated with rhinestones. Some brands also launched a collection of headphones which are really good looking and like toys. Females may tend to be pay more attention to the design when choosing headphones.

Anyhow, the most important thing of a headphone is its quality of audio. This is critical and cruel for all the brands. The brand which gives the most outstanding performance of its quality of audio gets the best reputation. However, as the consumers differ from music lovers to professional audio engineers, it is not necessary for everyone to buy the best headphone. As long as the product can satisfy the user, it is good.

After the brief introduction of the headphones, here comes some selected products of the three brands.

Beats Pro Over-Ear Headphone

This headphone is the flagship product of Beats and it claims to be designed for sound engineers, musicians, and those who take sound seriously. It is a moving-coil driven over-ear headphone, compatible with iPhone and iPod, has the good design of Beats and decent quality of audio. But it does not use the noise-cancelling technology.

Bose QuietComfort® 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones

Bose, who is the leader of noise-cancelling technology in the headphone market, launched this product recently. It is also an over-ear headphone which is compatible with Apple products, but with the ultimate noise-cancelling technology. Surprisingly, this time Bose gives consumers more options by its custom services with different colours.

Shure SE535LTD Limited Edition Sound Isolating™ Earphones with Remote + Mic

This SE535LTD is the best headphone of Shure, whom the TIME gave a comment of “Super Sonic” and a score of 90. As for this headphone, it got a score of 99. It is an in-ear headphone with a triple high-definition micro moving-iron drivers and a very shining colour of red. According to the score and Shure’s reputation, this product has an exceptional quality of audio.

That is all for today. Have you got an improvement in your knowledge of the headphones? Have you already chosen one for yourself?

See you next time.

Zhong Xia

Sources:

http://time.com/74886/best-headphones/

http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/history-of-headphones/

http://fr.beatsbydre.com/

http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/headphones/index.jsp

http://www.shure.com/americas/products/earphones-headphones

http://ca.beatsbydre.com/en/headphones/pro/beats-pro-ca.html

http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/headphones/noise_cancelling_headphones/quietcomfort_25/index.jsp

http://www.shure.com/americas/products/earphones-headphones/se-earphones/se535ltd-sound-isolating-earphones

Headphones market

figure 1, Red Beats By Dr.Dre.

With the constantly growing success of portable devices such as smartphones and tables boots are more and more acceptable by customers today, the selling of associated earphones cannot satisfy customers any more. indeed, more people started to buy a new individual headphone due to they were disappointed by the voice-quality issue, the ergonomics issue and sustainbility issue by the earphone given with their smartphones or tablets.

"The global headphones market is expected to increase of 20% in 2012 to reach $6 billion in value (versus $5 billion in 2011). With an increase in sales from 228 million units in 2011 to 260 million units in 2012, this market will certainly keep growing until 2016 with a possible growth to 330 million unit" (n. d.)

In french headphone market, "nowadays, in spite of the economic crisis, the headphones market keep growing with record sales : 9.5 million headphones sold in France in 2011 for a global turnover of 286 million euros ! And in 2012, the turnover of the first trimester is already 18% than the one for 2011 (with already 2.3 million headphones sold). This increase is mostly due to the consumer appetite for high-end headphones (over 200 euros)" (n. d.)

figure 2, market positioning (People, 2012).

Customers are changing to be nitpick, when they buy a new headphone, they would consider battery autonomy, the quality of bass, medium and highs of voice, the pressure and weight of ear, the convenience to carry on, and the noise cancellation by it. It is unblamable because customers deverse the satisfacations after everytime they paid more than hundreds dollars or euros to buy a individual music accessories. 

Facing to the increasing various headphones demands by customers, more and more company has been investigated and launched new brand headphones foucing on them. BEATS headphone, BOSE headphone and SHURE are the most characteristic ones by all of them. 

Beats, the most popular headphones brand on the market currently, which established in 2006 by Dr.Dre, who is the legendary artist, hip-hop, rap musician and producer. Beats has been on the market over 7 years and the sales are still growing up. "According to company spokesman Rick Jennings, 2010 profits were triple those from 2009. One of the most significant moves by Beats was their inclusion in Apple stores and in the largest US electronics retailer Best Buy" (n. d.).

"Beats captured 53 percent of the $1 billion headphone market in 2011, according to market researcher NPD Group, despite the fact that it is the highest priced ($210-$500 or N32 000 –N75 000) among most of the consumer headphones notably the 2 rivals earlier mentioned. Dr. Dre and Mr. Iovine sold 51 per cent of their Beats Electronics company to the Taiwanese technology company HTC for a whopping $309m ($110m entered the Dr.’s pocket)" (Sanburn, 2013).

video 1, Co-branding HTC/Beats

 

Bose, the expert headphone on noise-cancellation, which established in 1964 by Amar Bose. Also, it is the most professional headphone on the market, which has 12 different headphones sold, price between £89.5 and  £299.5.

figure 3, Bose Owner’s Guides for Headphones and Headsets. Retrieved November 15, 2009.

"According to a recent NPD study, Beats controls over 60 percent of the premium headphones market while Bose controls less than 25 percent. Arguably, all the money spent on marketing these headphones to a mass audience is passed along to the consumer in the price of the headphones. Apple recently purchased Beats for approximately $3 billion and heavily integrated the line of Beats products into the Apple Store" (Flacy, 2014).


Shure, a audio products corporation with more than 80 years history, which founded in United Stated in 1925 by Sidney Shure. It already became the most popular headphone brand in U.S.A., "The Consumer Electronics Association estimated that 79 million headphones were sold in 2012 with an expected increase of 10% in 2013. Most of that growth was expected to occur in the over $100 category"(DaProza, 2014).

 

figure 4,SE112 Sound Isolating Earphones,Shure.(2014).

"Now, Shure has a new earphone in the SE Model Series: SE112 at $49. What we wanted to know was what we could expect from the bargain-priced model. Or any entry-level pair"(DaProza, 2014). The SE112 is also the best-seller headphone in this price range.

"That adaptability is typical for Shure, founded 81 years ago as a build-your-own radio kit company. Today annual revenues are an estimated $350 million. The private company claims a 60% share of the U.S. microphone market — 45% worldwide"(Hendershot, 2006).

Those three characteristic headphones are diffrent- different style, different features and even different target markets.


























Sources:

People, (2012, May 25). Just Another Headphone? Retrieved from http://www.peoplepeople.se/just-another-headphone/

Sanburn, J. (2013, Jan 16). How Dr. Dre Made $300 Headphones a Must-Have Accessory. TIME. Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2013/01/16/how-dr-dre-made-300-headphones-a-must-have-accessory/

Flacy, M. (2014, Oct 5).  Beats, Bose battle over brand exposure on NFL broadcasts. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/beats-bose-battle-brand-exposure-nfl-broadcasts/

Hendershot, S. (2006, Oct, 9). How Shure became the word. Retrieved from http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20061007/ISSUE02/100026643/how-shure-became-the-word