Maybe We’ve Got It Wrong About Young People and HiFi

I was sat there (right here, actually) the other night when an advert came on the telly. Nothing unusual in that. What struck me wasn’t the product – in fact, I couldn’t tell you what it was selling if my life depended on it and had to wait til it came on again. However, what caught my attention was the music. It was The Jam. A band that takes me back to my youth, back to a time when music wasn’t just something to have on in the background, but something that pretty much defined me and the tribe I belonged to. A soundtrack to my teenage years.

And that’s when a thought hit me.

We spend so much time in this industry talking about how to get young people into HiFi. We fret about it, make it a talking point at shows, and act like it’s the be-all and end-all. But perhaps (and I say this just to get people thinking) perhaps we’ve been looking the wrong way.

Because when I heard that Jam song on the advert, I realised something. It resonated with me. My interest was piqued. Someone who grew up with that music, who loved it then and still loves it now. And yet, I couldn’t even tell you the brand being advertised at that time. If the whole point of that campaign was to sell me a product off the back of nostalgia, it (initially) failed. But what it did succeed in doing was sparking this thought:

Should we be chasing the young? Or should we be looking at the people who already have music running through their veins, and who, importantly, might actually have the money to spend on HiFi?

We’ve pretty much all bought into the idea that the younger generation are the “future” of HiFi, and so they must be pulled into the fold as soon as possible. On paper, it looks logical. Get them into the gear early, and they’ll be hooked for life. Except that’s (perhaps) not how it plays out in reality.

Young people today are skint. Really skint. They’re saddled with debts, they can’t get on the housing ladder, and the cost of living eats away at whatever they manage to put by. HiFi – and let’s be honest here – is a luxury. It’s not a loaf of bread or a bus fare. Add to this the fact that there’s so much more vying for any disposable income they might have – phones, games consoles…you get the idea.

So yes, a twenty-something who loves music might dream about a serious system, but the truth is they’ll settle for headphones, a Bluetooth speaker, maybe a cheap amp, and a turntable from the classifieds. And let’s not forget that for those who want it, there is a load of affordable new kit out there. That’s where they’re at. And good luck to them. But can we really expect that group to keep the wider industry alive?

Now let’s look at those of us who grew up in the 70s, 80s, or 90s. For many, the mortgage is paid off, or at least it’s not weighing us down quite as heavily as it once did. The kids have left home. There’s finally some spare cash in the bank.

And what do people often want to spend that cash on? The things they loved in their youth. Music. The records, the bands, the gigs that defined them and got them through all the crap that being a teenager entails. That feeling of putting an album on and being drawn right back into it.

HiFi is perfect for this. It’s the natural way to reconnect with the soundtrack of your life. If you grew up with The Jam, Bowie, Crass, Hawkwind, or Motörhead, you know that those songs deserve more than tinny laptop speakers. You want to hear them properly. And unlike the younger crowd, you can afford to indulge.

From a business point of view, doesn’t it make more sense to focus on this? To admit that it’s the 40-, 50-, and 60-somethings who are the main buyers today, and that they’re the ones likely to keep many brands afloat?

Of course, there’s a danger here. If we ignore younger people altogether, then what happens in twenty or thirty years? Do we just accept that HiFi fades away once our generation has had its fill?

That’s the worry, and it’s not a daft one. But maybe the answer isn’t to ram HiFi down young people’s throats when they can’t afford it anyway. Maybe it’s to let them love music however they can, and trust that when the time comes – when life settles, when there’s a bit more spare money – they’ll naturally find their way to better gear.

If you love music deeply enough, sooner or later you’ll want to hear it properly. You don’t need to convert. It happens on its own.

So perhaps the smart move is to stop trying to flog ten-grand turntables to people still living with four mates in a flatshare. Let them do their thing. Let them stream, plug in earbuds, buy a cheap turntable. They’re still listening, and that’s what matters.

At the same time, the industry should go all out on those who are in a position to spend. Celebrate their music. Show them that the best way to enjoy the bands and albums that defined their lives is through a proper system. That’s where the money is right now, and it would be daft to ignore it.

This doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. The point is that maybe we’ve been putting too much pressure on ourselves to get the youth “into HiFi” straight away. Maybe that’s what we’ve got wrong.

The kids don’t need converting, and we’re not missionaries. They just need to keep loving music. And when they’re ready, HiFi will be there.

I’m not saying this is the definitive answer. I’m not laying down rules. This is just me throwing out an idea. Maybe we’ve been staring in the wrong direction all along, worrying about dragging young people into the fold when the truth is, the real support for the industry is already right in front of us.

Or maybe I’ve got it completely wrong, and ignoring the next generation would be suicide for the business.

That’s the whole point of these Sunday Thoughts – to start a conversation.

Oh, and the brand The Jam song was promoting… Sainsbury’s. The song itself was Start! and I can’t help but think that, despite it catching my attention, it’s a bit of an odd choice of tune to promote a supermarket. But that’s a different matter for a later date.

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