hifi and the economy

with the current global financial crisis, many hifi dealers are bracing for the worse in months to come. they predict that audiophile consumers would naturally tighten their spending (i.e. stop upgrading) and leave hifi out of their "priority" list.

i spoke to some people and they offer some interesting views on how economy impacts the entertainment industry. it has been shown that whenever there is a crisis, the entertainment industry, such as music and movie industry, seems to do even better because people have less money to spend on "expensive" entertainment but they can afford "affordable" entertainment like music and movies. also, they find solace and inspiration in these pastimes to help them through tough times. ever listen to mozart's piano sonatas when you had a bad day? they work wonders, don't they?

it does make some sense to me. this world is full of entertainment options and hifi is often ranked very bottom in the list because you have to stay at home to enjoy it. during bad times, youngsters and young adults would have less money to go clubbing, concerts or general merry-making so they would stay at home and listen to their ipods and play with internet. for the middle-age audiophiles, they would have less social obligations with clients, less product launches, less beer-drinking sessions and they would also stay at home to listen to their hifi.

so i urge malaysian dealers to work even harder in bad times like these to get more sales. if biz is slow, these are the best times to build up customer relationship by visiting them and understand their aspirations and frustrations. of course, it is inevitable that buying customers would squeeze more discounts from the dealers.

seriously, now is the time that busy audiophiles would stay at home, be a good hubby and listen to their hifi. who knows, you will find inspiration to experiment that tweak that you have always been wanting to try or reposition your speakers to get better imaging and depth, or build up your software collection by shopping for those cds that you have always been wanting to buy. or continue with any hifi project that you have shelved due to your busy schedule.

bad times like these are also best times to reflect and soul-search in oneself. whether you are a boss, an employee, a father, a husband, a son, an audiophile.... you shall find these slow times the best opportunity to unwind, medidate and improve on whatever you are doing.

whatever the case, the worst of times are sometimes the best of times.