Supply Chain, Import/Export, and Tariffs Webinar, February 25

The Audio Product Development Alliance (APDA) is hosting a timely live webinar to discuss the current uncertainty in global manufacturing and trade. During this new APDA presentation, Dan Digre, President and CEO, MISCO, will discuss the current market volatility and the challenges resulting from US protectionism. How does one of the last remaining US loudspeaker manufacturers and a pioneer in manufacturing speakers and audio systems for OEM customers across the globe deal with tariffs?

The aftermarket headphones segment continues to attract consumer spend, with 2019 shaping up to be another industry high point, according to the new Headphones Market report from Futuresource Consulting. The headphones market continues its recent trend of solid growth in volumes - 5% year-on-year - and substantial growth in revenue (14%). True wireless and Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) are the main engines of growth in the total value of the headphones market accompanied by the rising ASP's, as consumers demand for new premium features remains strong.

Promoted every year by the market research firm Futuresource Consulting, Audio Collaborative 2019 full-day conference on November 7 was invaluable, with Futuresource's leading market analysts and researchers sharing some of the latest stats and trends on the topics in the agenda, combined with great panels and in-between keynotes. This is the second of my reports, originally published in The Audio Voice newsletter.

The global professional audiovisual industry will grow to more than $325 billion in 2024, from $247 billion in 2019, according to updated forecasts in the new 2019 AV Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis (IOTA) Global Summary produced by AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association. Overall, the demand for pro-AV products and services is driven by rising GDP across much of the globe because the pro-AV industry provides solutions to nearly all facets of the economy.

Futuresource Consulting has just completed their latest round of research into the global music market and the conclusion is that the industry is celebrating its strongest performance in 15 years. Global consumer spend across packaged, subscription and pay-per downloads grew by 5% to reach almost $19 billion, primarily fueled by the growth in streaming music subscription services, which accounted for one quarter of all music market spend.

A new analysis for 2014 titled “The Global and China Micro Electronic-Acoustics Component Industry Report, 2013-2014” was published in October 2014 by Research in China and shows that the earphone and headphone categories have been the main growth areas since the second half of 2013. The 95 pages report provides the most recent data and information on the micro electronic-acoustics industry, detailing profiles of 21 micro electronic-acoustics manufacturers.