Professional microphone market slow but steady, as installed commercial leads the way

The professional microphone market continues to achieve slow but steady post-pandemic growth, with a new report from Futuresource Consulting forecasting a CAGR of 5.9% over the next five years. That’s despite a general feeling of caution and nervousness among buyers, resulting from current economic and geopolitical issues. Recovery for the touring and rental vertical is particularly affected, though Futuresource notes a strong resurgence could occur if optimism returns.

Market growth patterns in conflict

“We’re seeing widely diverging paths being taken by the three product application areas of live, install and content creation,” says Grant Youngman, Professional Audio Lead Analyst, Futuresource Consulting. “Live was hit hardest by the pandemic and is also recovering slower than expected. However, we’re going to see this area outpace the rest of the market over the next five years.

“For content creation, the tables have turned. After a huge growth surge in 2020, and continued slower growth in 2021, we saw the market stagnate last year. Moving forward, we’re expecting minimal growth out to 2028 for professional microphones in content creation applications.

“Looking to the install area, that’s where most of the market stability has been originating from. There was a slight dip in 2020, though the market flipped back into a quick recovery in 2021. All our forecasts are pointing to stable growth for install product applications over the next five years.”

Installed commercial provides continued stability

When segmenting by industry vertical, installed commercial is outperforming touring and rental, portable sound, installed leisure, and broadcast and studio. Not only was installed commercial the largest of the verticals prior to the pandemic, it was also the most stable during the pandemic. After a slight weakening in 2020, it achieved 17% growth in 2021.

“All eyes are on installed commercial,” says Youngman. “As well as being the most stable of the five verticals, it is also the fastest growing. We expect it to achieve a CAGR of 7.1% over our forecast period, out to 2028.”

For further information on Futuresource Consulting’s professional microphone market assessment report, or to make a purchase, please contact Grant Youngman – grant.youngman@futuresource-hq.com

About the author

Grant Youngman

Grant Youngman joined Futuresource Consulting in May 2023 as the Senior Market Analyst, leading research across the Professional Audio industry. Grant brings a wealth of analytical knowledge having worked in many different industries during his career. Grant’s research will span the entire professional audio industry with an initial focus on publishing the Audio over IP annual report.