The secondhand market Previously owned
Bob Kelly wrote for PSNLiveon the state of the used equipment market back in 2008. Five years on, he looks at how the landscape has changed
THE WORLDWIDE live sound market has changed dramatically over the last five years. With the continuing evolution of digital products, analogue console sales have now almost completely dried up, particularly in Europe. But there are exceptions: there will always be a place somewhere in the rental market for used Midas, Yamaha, Soundcraft and Allen & Heath analogue consoles today but, in most cases, only a small number, and generally into developing regions such as India, Africa and Asia.
Even some of the older digital consoles are now proving difficult to move on as well, mostly due to their age and size, but often due to the headline fact that the market can supply a new digital console package bubbling over with high-performance specs and a full warranty for a very low price indeed. Some middle-market rental companies are buying new competitively- priced digital systems rather than secondhand, good condition cheaper options. This causes issues for resellers who need to dispose of used consoles to buy new upgraded versions. They do
GLOBAL MARKET EXPANSION FROM 2008 FOR USED EQUIPMENT SALES FROM BOB KELLY & CO
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sell eventually, yes, but the return on investment (ROI) is not going to be as good as anticipated. It’s quite extraordinary how
much processing power can be crammed into a small package. DiGiCo SD9, Midas PRO2, Yamaha CL series, Soundcraft Vi1 or A&H GLD series: these options are very attractive for many middle market rental houses and with the warranty included, it makes the choice over buying a used desk an easy one. Meanwhile, the secondhand value for the frontline mixing battleships of yesteryear (Soundcraft Series 5, Yamaha
MAN IN THE KNOW
used systems from stock to help finance the acquisitions. But it’s not been proving easy to locate fresh buyers for many of the older systems that need to be offloaded in order to pay for the new kit. I would say around half of the PA companies I’ve encountered recently, who would like to upgrade, are continuing to use their existing system until such time they can get a reasonable ROI to cover the cost. In other cases, the high
purchase costs for new systems
“For my business, sales to rental and installation companies have increased significantly. There is a huge expansion into developing countries where the awareness and necessity to purchase top-level branded products has become commonplace”
PM4000, Midas H3000) drops and drops. For any analogue collector there are some bargains to be had out there!
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LINING UP THE ARRAYS It’s a tough decision today for most sound rental companies when considering new purchases. Besides the topflight systems being used in the past (L-Acoustics V-DOSC, d&b J-Series, Meyer Sound MILO, Martin Audio W8L, JBL VerTec, Nexo GEO T, Adamson Y18 and so on), PA companies are looking to the shiny new boxes. And there’s quite a choice: I’ve had conversations about JBL VTX, Meyer’s LEO, Adamson Energia, Nexo STM, Martin MLA, Vue aI series, Coda Airline, Turbosound Flashline, Outline GTO – not to mention a major new system on its way from a big player early next year. The costs associated with purchasing new system packages is substantial, therefore it’s imperative for rental companies to sell on complete plug ’n’ play
and the competitive nature of bidding for local events/tours has brought hard times to some rental houses. In Germany and central Europe, I’ve encountered six or so operations that have decided to opt out of the touring/events market completely and concentrate only on the more profitable, less stressful commercial side of the business – corporate events, AGMs, one-off shows – and of course, that means smaller system purchases for less money. At the top end, we’ve seen consolidation as major rental houses join forces, maintaining a larger share of the market and giving them several systems in the inventory (this year with SSE and Wigwam, for example). Customers are almost spoiled for choice. I can only see this consolidation trend continuing as the rental market is fiercely competitive among the big players. In order to be successful with
relocating gear, it’s necessary to reach out beyond Europe. The exploration of the potential of
Bob Kelly runs Bob Kelly Worldwide Livesound Brokers and has been operating in this field for 13 years. Prior to this he was an international market development specialist and introduced several brands to the marketplace including Martin Audio, d&b audiotechnik, L-Acoustics and EAW. Before that he was an “old road hog” having worked for many audio companies in the 60s & 70s like the Festival Group and Activated Air Audio services in Philadelphia (Traffic, J Giels Band), Bob Heil Sound (Humble Pie), Dawson Sound (Steely Dan), FM Productions and Northwest Sound (CSNY, George Harrison) and The Rolling Stones in 75. “I was also the original tractor/trailer driver for a new start up company in Philadelphia called Ego Trips back in 1970 who provided the first artic on tours with ELP and Pink Floyd,” he says.
www.bobkelly.co.uk
the expanding audio markets in China and Taiwan is one solution to the over-subscription for reselling audio systems and consoles into Europe. I must say that China, Taiwan and other parts of Asia have helped my company achieve outstanding results and increased turnover over the last five years. Demand for high-profile systems and consoles is growing stronger and stronger, offering great opportunities for the resale of gear. It’s been very reassuring to establish a foothold in a diversity of countries and witness so many smaller audio rental company start-ups. This is mostly thanks to the current level of education and workshops that mixing console and loudspeaker manufacturers are introducing at all levels. There is now a very big demand in China for high- quality professional audio products. The many Chinese knock-off manufacturers of the past are no longer pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. Go east and multiply… PSNLIVE 2013
www.psneurope.com
% growth into market since 2008
Hong Kong Taiwan Japan
China/
Russia Lithuania Poland
Thailand Singapore/ Malaysia Korea
UAE India
Kazakstan Estonia Romania Serbia Ukraine Ireland Slovakia
Czech Republic United Kingdom
% growth into market since 2008
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