Focusing on the positives during what has certainly been a challenging time to date, Futuresource's Audio Collaborative will offer a range of thought-provoking panels and presentations discussing the future of audio, outlining the many opportunities in this space.
The two-day exclusive event will share industry insights and provide the opportunity to engage with global brands, all of which has been made possible with the support of Futuresource’s many sponsors, including Title Sponsor Qualcomm, as well as Audinate, Sonarworks, Xperi, DSP Concepts, Flexound, Cambridge Audio and USound.
The full agenda is now available online here: https://www.futuresource-consulting.com/events-conferences/audio-collaborative-2020/agenda/
The Accelerated Growth of Live Streaming
One of the panel sessions we look forward to hearing from is titled "The Accelerated Growth of Live Streaming of Concerts, Theatre and User Generated Content in Lockdown," presented by Futuresource Consulting’s Pro Audio Analyst James Kirby.
Panelists include Katy Templeman-Holmes – Director of Market Strategy at Harman, Harry Parslow – CEO at Tourlife, Meridith Rojas – Global Head, Creator Marketing at Logitech, and Jim Odom – Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at PreSonus. This panel will primarily focus on the accelerated growth of live streaming and how this will impact the live performance and touring segment, whilst boosting the home studio opportunity.
The Next Decade of Audio Technology
Another panel session is titled "The Next Decade of Audio Technology," presented by Futuresource Consulting's Principal Technology Analyst Simon Forrest. Panelists include Dave Berol - Senior Solution Audio Engineer at Amazon, Andreas Ehret - Director of Technology Marketing at Dolby, Mervi Heinaro – CEO at Flexound, Stefan Meltzer – Chief Business Development Manager at Fraunhofer, and Adam Levenson – Senior Director of Business Development at Waves Audio.
The panel will primarily focus on audio production, machine learning and AI, voice interfaces, and audio product development, exploring how spatial/immersive audio formats are developing to integrate with sensor technologies, and what additional applications or market opportunities will the next generation of immersive/spatial audio enable in the next five years? The panel will also explore topics such as applications and/or features of audio products and new market opportunities with machine learning and AI, challenges to improve voice interfaces, power consumption concerns with products such as Bluetooth speakers, true wireless and hearable products.
Expanding into future innovations, the panel will discuss which concepts will come to fruition – and perhaps even be considered commonplace - within the next decade. Are there any new markets for audio that will be unlocked this decade through advancement of techniques and technologies? What might products and consumers be doing with audio in 2030? These are some of the questions under discussion.
Another panel session will focus on "AV Collaboration tools and app usage turbocharged during lockdown", moderated by Adam Cox, Futuresource's Senior Market Analyst, with Martin Bodley, Director, Emerging Businesses at Bose, TJ Varghese, Product Manager at Google, and Jason Goecke, VP and General Manager at Intel Unite.
Radio and the Share of Ear
Another panel session will look at "Radio as an Evergreen Content Genre and the Shift in Focus for Music Streaming Services," and will be presented by Futuresource Consulting’s Principal Analyst Jack Wetherill. Panelists include Travis Baxter - Content & External Affairs Director at Bauer Media, Ian O'Neil OBE, Head of Radio and Head of Broadcasting Resilience - Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), Chris Burns - Head of Audio & Digital at BBC England, and Steve Raizes - Senior Vice President, Podcasting at ViacomCBS.
While the panel will focus primarily on what lies in store for the future of radio, they will also address topics such as DJ music choice & chat versus curated playlist, when radio becomes podcasting, and advertising revenue from linear and podcasts.
A panel session focusing on headphones and hearables will be titled "Who Will Win the Share of Ear - Key Market Drivers and Applications Fueling Demand," and will be presented by Futuresource Consulting’s Market Analyst Luke Pearce. Panelists include Tim Johnston PE - Vice President of Engineering at Starkey Hearing, Bernice Cramer - Director of Product Management and Global Marketing, Professional Audio at Bose, Chris Havell - Senior Director of Product Marketing, Voice & Music at Qualcomm Technologies, and Stuart George - Managing Director at Cambridge Audio.
This panel session will explore the most noteworthy lasting trends for ear-worn devices and consumer behavior, overlapping use-cases in sports, gaming, hearing augmentation, or office-use, and the core use-case for headphones and audio-quality. Discussing also features and innovations in this space, the panel will discuss the latest technological advancements such as ANC and adaptive hearing.
Between panel sessions there will be time for individual presentations from Harman (Reaching Customers & Selling Sound in an Increasingly Dominant Digital World), and DSP Concepts (Voice Input: What is the Magic and What's Next?), with the first day concluding with the presentation Guy Hammett from Futuresource Consulting, discussing Consumer Audio Trends - The Outlook Past COVID-19. The second day there will be presentations from USound, discussing MEMS Technology in Audio, while David Saidden, Director of Strategic Partnerships at ByteDance will present on "Why is TikTok so much more than a social media platform?"
The second day, will open with two presentations by Futuresource analysts on "Evolution of the Gamer - Opportunities for the Audio Hardware and Entertainment Industry, and "The Next Decade of Music Delivery – Revenue Drivers, Challenges and the Competitive Landscape. And finally the two-day event will close with a presentation by Futuresource's Director of Research Simon Bryant on "Expansion of the Technology Giants in Consumer and Pro A/V Sectors".
The complete agenda is available online here
And registration is here
www.futuresource-consulting.com
