ing back to the bundling idea and providing those turnkey packages,” Davidson said. EDUCATION DRIVES CONFIDENCE As creator technology becomes more so- phisticated, education has become just as important as the products themselves. To help retailers and end-users stay informed, Shure offers a growing collec- tion of educational resources through Shure Academy. “It’s free, it’s online and you can go in depth,” Davidson said. “You can go from hardware and products to software or over- all concepts, and it’s all free and lives on Shure’s website. From just a standpoint of how it’s evolved and changed, we’ve also consistently listened to our users to figure out what they need, so making sure it’s mobile-focused, making sure there’s a software component and an ecosystem integration that’s not going to take them too far outside of their workflow.” For Nugen Audio, meeting the needs of today’s home creators and content creators means expanding its channels. “Nugen is constantly expanding the num- ber of channels supported by each of its prod- ucts,” Vinehill-Cliffe said. “The majority of
Shure’s Laura Davidson
our tools go up to at least 7.1.2, and in some cases, as many as 7.1.4 or 9.1.6 channels. We can’t ignore the fact that there are more creators working in the immersive space.” Ease of use has become a defining factor in today’s creator market. According to Erich Barto, marketing director at Zoom, demand has shifted toward affordable recording tools that deliver professional- quality sound without requiring extensive technical knowledge. “There’s been a lot more demand for easy-to-use but good-sounding recorders, and fortunately Zoom is positioned in such a way that we have a lot in that regard,
from purpose-built podcast recorders that are really straightforward, to easy-to-use handheld recorders like the H1essential and H4,” Barto said. “Those new content creators out there can really get into good audio for not only a great price point, but for something that’s pretty easy to pick up.” Independent musicians are often produc- ing videos, recording podcasts, managing social media and marketing their own work, all while continuing to create music. That shift has fundamentally changed the types of tools customers need. “Embrace the different types of creator,” Barto said. “Whether you’re a podcaster,
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