Survey: Shifting Pro-Loudspeaker Market To Grow $1 Billion by 2021 Growth in installed and live audio will be propelled by new capital, emphasis on sound quality By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 - 10:22 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
A confluence of dynamic factors is helping propel the professional-loudspeaker market to new heights. That's according to the Professional Loudspeaker Market Assessment, a study undertaken by UK-based Futuresource Consulting. An extended analysis of the survey reflects what has become a market crowded with brands and options.
According to the survey, brands are becoming more assertive in their marketing, as opportunities increase - including the demand for enhanced quality in installed sound, such as in stadiums and arenas - but competition squeezes the economic landscape.
In this maturing market, says Chris McIntyre-Brown, associate director, Futuresource Consulting, it's no longer just about being in the right place at the right time; brands are placing a greater emphasis on data analytics and research to identify growth opportunities.
Futuresource Consulting's Chris McIntyre-Brown: Moving forward, the brands that will succeed will be those who reinvent themselves as end-to-end solution providers.
He notes that the importance of data and strategy has been amplified by private-investment acquisitions by the likes of Ardian (for d&b Audiotechnik) and Transom Capital Group (for Loud Technologies, which includes Mackie, Ampeg, EAW, and Martin Audio brands), and Samsung's acquisition of Harman.
With access to growth capital and greater commercialization, watch out for strategies built around integrated, sustained campaigns which achieve [key performance indicators] yet maintain brand integrity, McIntyre-Brown suggests. It's a balancing act that needs to preserve the hard-earned customer relationships, which have traditionally been critical to success.
The report examines seven product segments - point-source cabinets, line arrays, column arrays, compact systems, studio monitors, flush-mount speakers, and cinema sound - across five broad segments, including touring/rental and installed commercial. It predicts that the professional-loudspeaker market, currently valued at $2.6 billion worldwide, is on track to reach $3.6 billion by 2021 despite a number of major market shifts. Regionally, AsiaPac is the fastest-growing market. By the end of 2017, it will overtake the EMEA region to become the second-largest market after the Americas, and Futuresource research projects that it will be worth $1.3 billion by 2021. EMEA is the slowest-growing market but continues to expand, with growth projected out to 2021.
Sound Quality Is Important
The aggregated installed-commercial verticals will lead the way for market development, according to the survey, posting healthy growth to 2021 and beyond. Sports venues, which have recently encompassed more consumer-oriented features, such as high-end restaurants, will be part of that growth.
In the installed commercial segment, there is a subsegment emerging that is placing increased importance on sound quality, leading to higher-value installs, the report states, noting the emphasis creating an immersive customer experience and improved intelligibility.
Audio Still on the Defensive
The report seems to suggest that budget pressures are pitting audio and video expenditures against each other, with audio often - but not necessarily - coming in second, as visual enhancements are more strongly emphasized (the Halo oculus at the Atlanta Falcons' new stadium is a recent example). Combined with significant growth in the use of visual effects to improve the audience experience, audio is taking a direct hit, the report concludes. Even where overall budgets aren't experiencing downward pressure, audio is taking a reduced proportion, squeezing margins.
Notes McIntyre-Brown, As consumers place more importance on the live-music experience, the demand for concerts, festivals, and music events continues to climb. More events means more demand for equipment. And, although these higher expectations have led to visual effects' being used to enhance the show at the expense of audio, there could be future opportunities for new audio solutions in the [installed segment].
Immersive Unaccounted For?
Interestingly, the report does not take into account the potential impact of immersive audio, such as Dolby's Atmos and Fraunhofer's MPEG-H, which will increase the demand for professional-grade loudspeakers for broadcast and other critical-monitoring applications by as much as two-thirds. Most of the high-end production-truck providers are now either expanding 5.1-surround-monitoring arrays with as many as four overhead speakers or are at least costing that process out.
This wasn't something that we specifically asked about in the research, a Futuresource Consulting spokesperson explains. When we asked about current trends, it wasn't mentioned by the respondents.
Looking Ahead
In the future, two entrenched trends will offer advantages to brands: synergy through consolidation, and broader reach via increased verticality. The progressive aggregation of brands under the Harman Professional marque (now owned by Samsung) is an example of the first, with audio, video, and control product lines across broadcast, live sound, and other sectors. The acquisition or development of additional services, such as large-screen-video vendor Panasonic's acquisitions of integrators TS Sports in the U.S. and Alan Dick Communications in Europe, underline the second.
Moving forward, the brands that will succeed will be those who reinvent themselves as end-to-end solution providers, says McIntyre-Brown. When it comes to installation, being able to offer a c
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Survey: Shifting Pro-Loudspeaker Market To Grow $1 Billion by 2021 Growth in installed and live audio will be propelled by new capital, emphasis on sound quality By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
