lot of the gear because it can sync right to the computer with USB . That ’ s the kind of thing where in ‘ regular times ’ I would ’ ve expected to go through maybe a few dozen here and there , but instead it ’ s a few hundred here and there . We got four cases of them yesterday after waiting for three months on them and I don ’ t expect them to be here by the end of next week . It ’ s insane . I mean , we could ’ ve predicted that , ‘ Hey , everyone is at home so there ’ s going to be a big jump ,’ but it went exponentially past that .”
In addition to teachers , Van Hemmen says fitness instructors fronting Zoom classes ( for obvious reasons ) and corporate customers are the other groups creating this huge demand for the simple wireless microphone systems .
“ I wasn ’ t expecting this as much – I expected this group to go more towards plugin USB microphones – but it ’ s people who are doing large-scale Zoom meetings . So , businesses who are trying to do presentations and everything . You ’ ve got a guy in his living room with a poster board set up and he ’ s got to walk around and talk . The USB microphones that are out there are not designed to pick up room noise . They ’ re always designed to be right in front of you . So , if you have to even remotely move away from your desk , it ’ s not going to work for you . I don ’ t think anyone expected that group to jump in on this but it ’ s filling a lot more needs than originally expected ,” says Van Hemmen about the Rode Wireless Go . “ It ’ s weird , it ’ s a market we would normally never deal with . We deal with the occasional conference centre installation and that kind of thing , but the fact that they were able to adjust as quickly as they did and come up with some solution like that was pretty impressive .”
For Kano and Hart , they both say that in the Montreal market there was a huge initial surge , and still a higher-than-normal demand currently for things like sound cards and microphones coming from broadcast companies . For instance , Hart says his Steve ’ s Music location got a large order for sound cards and other related home audio gear come from RDS , the French-language sports broadcaster , early in on in the pandemic shutdowns . He ’ s also seen a lot of individuals from the broadcast industry in the store ( or on the phone ) looking for gear , and often it ’ s for higher-end stuff than the typical USB microphone .
“ I also see big broadcasters who are buying tons of stuff for their employees so that they can be remote ,” adds Kano .
ALEXANDRE KANO , FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF MOOG AUDIO
A lot of the explosion in the home performance and work market will obviously recede once things return to normal ( whenever that will be ). The return of people to their offices will be gradual , unlike the very sudden shutdowns that sent them all home at the same time . But that said , there is a lot of evidence that a good chunk of the market will continue to work from home .
“ I think it ’ s going to be part of a new way of life ,” says Kano . “ A lot of companies will notice they ’ re saving a lot of money by not having a building and I ’ m talking with owners who are thinking , ‘ You know what ? I ’ d maybe rather pay a portion of [ employees ’] rent and leave those people at home and just work with Zoom and such instead of renting a big building downtown ’ and stuff like that . I was just having this discussion with some guys who were saying , you know , ‘ Everything is running well and we ’ ve equipped everybody with better headphones and microphones and stuff like that , so what ’ s the purpose of having this big building and offering all those add-ons that you ’ re trying to offer to your employees when they could be at home ?’”
Van Hemmen does warn , though , that the post-pandemic world could likely see less demand for PA gear than was normal pre-March 2020 . In large part this is because of the sad demise of so many nightclubs and music venues . “ I don ’ t think that ’ s going to come back to where it was . I mean , we ’ ve seen a number of venues close , especially here in town , where we ’ ve got their PA systems in the back warehouse right now up for sale . There ’ s just not going to be a lot of venues left when things come back ,” he laments about London , ON and the surrounding
JASON HART , MANAGER OF STEVE ’ S MUSIC
area . “ Like for DJs , most of the nightclubs here in town have turned into restaurants and it ’ s going to cost them too much to turn back at the end of it , so they ’ re probably going to stay that way . It ’ ll be a weird environment for sure .”
But on the other hand , Van Hemmen does believe that the growing home performance market is now just a normal part of the entertainment and content-creation landscape . “ I think the podcasters are probably going to stay . The streamers are probably going to stay . I don ’ t really see any of that stuff fading back to where it was before . Same with the musicians who have switched over to it . I don ’ t think they ’ re going to stop doing it once they can start playing live again ,” he predicts . “ I think it ’ s a pretty safe bet . I mean , even between tours , if you ’ re at home for a week between shows , why not have a stream three or four days a week ? So , I think most of it is going to stay .”
It ’ s going to be a pretty different world post-pandemic than it was just a year ago . You never want to dismiss or devalue the pain and hardship that COVID-19 has caused so many people and businesses across our industry . At the same time , it ’ s incumbent on all businesses owners and managers to be seeking bright spots and identify where growth is happening and try to grasp that opportunity . And it seems clear that everyone working from home , regardless of what they do , has opened or expanded a unique product segment that MI dealers are well-positioned to capitalize on . And interestingly , a lot of it has nothing to do with music .
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Music .
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