The last May, 9th or the first day at MOC 2024 was an octogenarian parade, Elysium-style - i.e. - average age of participants (press/visitors/whoever) was 70+ years old!
Average listening bandwidth available? Say: 10khz?
Average spending capability? Say: € 100 x discs, € 500 per reel to reel tape, € 10,000.00 per turntable, etc. etc…
Age of MOC hostesses and stewards at booths and rooms at the show was between 20 and 35/40 years old.
I saw an old Japanese gentlemen with Gold credit-card buying 30 cm thick piles of ultra-expensive discs without batting an eyelid… and the most attentive listeners, already well seated in the most exotic and sought-after brands rooms… all these people were 60/65+ years old.
The long-awaited generational change is beyond the realm of possibility, as larger slices of youngsters are penny-pinchers, short of money like church mice.
To an expensive elusive first -pressing of a classic disc they are content of Spotify, at best.
This way, audio industry is like a fat cow milking itself… no, better: a money greedy always milking that poor, once fat and wealthy “cow”.
The faces at the show are more or less the same of last years; you could say who’s not here or he cured of the terrible disease of audiophilia or passed away.
… kidding, exaggerating?
Maybe!
… yet the feeling is those (myself included) “octogenarian apprentices” asking for infos and details to young (mostly) bored and incredulous stand-standers subjected to questions about this or that product from people older than their grandparents… and it’s disturbing!
Facts!
Then, suddenly… the usual miracle of MOC, happens!
This year, a big loss was the absence of Silbatone’s shrine, with their loads of Western Electric’s gears and chatting and… some old friend was - sort of - walking almost without a destination and a certain direction, with his eyes wide open, missing Silbatone’s safe harbor.
Luckly, talking about the above mentioned “MOC miracle”, music healing power begins to work… people queuing for free-coffee begins to socialize, experiences are shared back and forth.
Zoran Mihajlovic, arm-maker extraordinaire
Masashi Miyake of Vinyl Audio Laboratory (Japan)
In my humble case: I had a two days full-agenda of must-see/listen to… I cleverly accomplished all the rooms I wished to visit and - in between - I lived the moment, in a fractal-mood: missing old friends, meeting new friends, teaching and learning, chatting, almost fighting with someone annoyed by my compulsive chatting (my fault, Jeroen 🙏), shortly after having most lovely and relaxed of conversations… because, you know: Music is Love.
Same mishap, at a soccer match, it could have easily turned into a fight… not at MOC.
The bier-garten I went so many times all the times I was at MOC in the past years, is always a pleasant break from show-frenzy… and MOC restaurants prices (€ 30 for a pasta 😵💫) and at the end of the day you - really - feel richer, tired, broken, but inexplicably happy.
That’s the “MOC miracle” 💫 - people and music (and those bulky, expensive, boring gears and ancillaries) mixed together makes an always refreshing and rewarding experience.
Highly recommended also to rampant youngsters of good spirit who (God forbids me!) an iPhone and Earbuds is the only way to enjoy music 😏.
Hopefully, that’s my most sincere wish for the future… of humanity and - why not - audio industry: less greedy people and more empathy and love for music.
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