Apple Buys Beats, But What Does it Mean?

Apple Buys Beats, But What Does it Mean?

LONDON, May 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --



Futuresource Consulting provides market context to the multi-billion dollar headphones
deal


Apple, the company that transformed digital music into a worldwide phenomenon,
confirmed yesterday that it was buying Beats Electronics for $3 billion. This is a move
that will help Apple reinforce its position in the new world of streaming music and stay
ahead of the personal accessories explosion.



New research from Futuresource Consulting provides market context which reveals the
full extent of the market opportunity.



The global CE market has been moving skywards since the recession of 2009, but with
growth confined to mobile devices and the emerging markets. Many CE brands are struggling
as more competitors enter from China and new brands compete in high growth niches like
wireless audio.



Since 2009, total CE sales have risen at 9% CAGR, reaching $676 billion worldwide in
2013. However, the European market has slumped from 26% of global CE consumption in 2009
to just 21% in 2013. Meanwhile, emerging markets have grown to account for an estimated
50% of worldwide CE market value in 2013, China's domestic market alone accounting for
around 15%.



Audio has been relatively buoyant, spurred by the boom in mobile music and streaming
services, which have driven demand for accessories like wireless speakers and headphones.
Sonos, which has pioneered wireless music systems, doubled sales to $535 million in 2013.
Beats Electronics, launched just five years ago, has become the market leader in high end
headphones and enjoyed estimated sales of over $1.5 billion in 2013. Pure, which drove DAB
hardware in the UK, is now pushing into networked audio players.



Ironically Apple, which started the MP3 revolution, has seen iPod sales decline
sharply as smartphones have taken on the role of music player with many consumers.



From a music streaming angle, consumer spend on global music subscription services
such as Spotify and Deezer was estimated to be just under $2 billion in 2013.



There is still significant potential for the market to grow, with music subscriptions
accounting for just 10% of the total music market spend last year, equivalent to around
25% of the digital music market. This is expected to exceed $5 billion in 2017, equivalent
to 30% of global music market spend. In comparison, spend on online video subscription
services such as Netflix last year was almost $5 billion.



In Sweden, music streaming accounted for around 70% of total market spend in 2013, up
from around 20% in 2010.



Many consumers are moving away from ownership towards an access model, for both music
and video. Total "pay per download" e.g. track and album downloads from services such as
iTunes, declined in the USA last year, significantly down in Sweden and stabilising in the
UK. Some consumers are changing their behaviour and this is impacting ownership, although
most music buyers are still in the transition somewhere between buying CDs, buying digital
tracks and albums - with the final step paying for a streaming subscription service such
as Spotify.



Paid-for streaming subscriptions are increasingly driven by in-home wireless audio
products, such as wireless speakers (e.g. Sonos) and integrated Hi-Fi with airplay,
Bluetooth and the like.



Global shipments of wireless home audio products grew by over 100% in 2013 to reach 27
million units. Futuresource's latest Living With Digital consumer research indicates that
owners of such devices are 2.5 times more likely to pay for a digital music subscription
compared to the overall population.



Andy Watson, +44(0)1582-500-169, andy.watson@futuresource-hq.com




Futuresource Consulting


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