Customer purchasing habits are shifting. Business models are in flux. And forward-looking companies are rapidly reinventing themselves to adapt to these new realities. And while I got out of the prediction business two years ago when I realized that the crowds’ behaviors were playing by a different set of rules than my crystal ball, if I were to wager – to pick a successful business model that will emerge victorious in the long run – I would say that future success is highly dependent upon owning the direct relationship with the customer while offering unparalleled levels of personalization and customization on the front end, combined with made-to-order processes on the back-end.
Adapt, Survive, and Thrive
Successful businesses of the future will cater to professionals while scaling towards hobbyists and prosumers. They will sell direct – leveraging word of mouth referrals and social influence, and backed by strategic digital marketing campaigns. In short, the ideal business of the future will look exactly like the custom in-ear monitor space of today. I would even argue that custom in-ear manufacturers as a whole should be viewed as a case study for future success.
When most live sound reinforcement companies were dealing with global shutdown issues and supply chain complexities, custom in-ear manufacturers continued to sell strongly into Asia, buoyed by strong demand from hi-fi enthusiasts. So how did this seemingly fringe aspect of music merchandising end up being at the forefront of current business trends?
True custom in-ear sales began over 30 years ago, but these were niche pockets at best. They solved some technical challenges and offered more freedom of mobility than traditional stage monitors, but still the earliest generation of in-ear adopters was a very small market segment. But it is best to think of the initial wave of in-ears simply as a part of a highly complex nascent wireless ecosystem. The in-ears themselves lacked all forms of scalability, presentation or style. They were part of a system, not really thought about on their own. And they were unremarkable beige, trying to match some elusive skin tone.
The Steven Tyler Effect
But all that changed the night Steven Tyler from Aerosmith hit the stage for an MTV Award show. He wanted reflective gloss black in-ears with embedded skulls and crossbones complete with ruby eyes. He had coordinated with the lighting director to focus on his new in-ear jewelry, to truly make them pop. He wanted the spotlight to hit them and to reflect his personality. He wanted to make a statement. Inadvertently, he also changed an industry.
I would know. I took that initial order and helped coordinate it with the production lab, and it was nothing short of a revolution. Just like that, he turned the mundane into the spectacular; he merged technology with fashion, and he made a thing that you need turn into an object of desire that you had to have. That was the tipping point. Custom in-ear sales exploded from that point on, and now, custom in-ear monitors are ubiquitous with local manufacturers based in nearly every country and territory.
Every in-ear manufacturer now offers true concierge service with real-time design-your-own product engines where you can pick from any color and choose any exotic finish from wood to metal to abalone – and that’s just the base layer. Custom artwork can be interwoven into every facet. Personalization is such a driving sales force that some companies even offer swappable faceplates in case you can’t choose.
Personalization isn’t just smart marketing driving loyalty while enticing users to share their unique designs. Personalization adds hundreds of dollars to the final purchase price, which customers happily pay. And it is this premium – attention to detail and the handcrafted aspect – that allows custom manufacturers to charge two to three times what a comparable sonic piece costs from a mass-production factory.
Market Changes, Disruptions
Of course, there were shifts in music distribution that also helped the sector explode. Well before the iPod, there were early portable MP3 players that were bellwethers of things to come. This allowed in-ears to break free of their wireless ecosystem constraints and to literally plug into an infinitely larger platform.
In-ear monitors capitalized on disruptions in the ecosystem – opening their market potential from a niche product serving a small handful of artists to becoming the center of the global headphone revolution. But how is that any different from any of the market trends happening right now? Yet, had in-ears stayed the course and not become objects of art merging technology, lifestyle and fashion, they never would have crossed the chasm into the consumer electronics space.
Custom in-ear manufacturers’ ability to serve top-touring musicians and sound engineers while leveraging their technology and brand success into the consumer electronics space is worth paying attention to; understanding how they are able to continue to charge a premium in a commodities-driven market is a business phenomenon worth studying.
Author Mike Dias is the executive director of IEMITO – the In-Ear Monitor International Trade Organization, a PAMA (Pro Audio Manufacturer Alliance) member organization. For more info, visit: www.inearmonitor.org.
