BIG by Matt Stoller

Share this post

Here In My Car

www.thebignewsletter.com
Weird Monopolies

Here In My Car

There's a weird monopoly in premium car audio systems.

Matt Stoller
Oct 13, 2022
10
3
Share
Share this post

Here In My Car

www.thebignewsletter.com

Welcome to BIG, a newsletter on the politics of monopoly power. If you’d like to sign up to receive issues over email, you can do so here

Via Thomas Hundal at the Autopian:

If you like music and spend a lot of time in your car, you’ve probably considered popping for a pre audio system. However, with brands like Bang & Olufsen, JBL, Revel, Mark Levinson, Harman Kardon, Infinity, and Lexicon all on deck at various manufacturers, it can be a bit hard discerning what makes certain factory sound systems special. I’ll let you in on a little secret; all of the brands I just mentioned are owned by Samsung subsidiary Harman International.

Hundal does a nice job running down the litany of acquisitions here by Harman, as well as the resulting declines in quality, price hikes, and generally homogenization of the space. There seems to be some competition, with independent brands such as Bowers & Wilkins and Burmester, and new players McIntosh, Dolby, and Sonos.

But it’s hard to get into the space. Most consumers buy a car, and then the car manufacturer will give them options for these audio systems. So the way to get into the market is to have a deal with an automobile manufacturers. It seems like Harman, with all its different brands, has been able to exclude a lot of possible rivals.

10
3
Share
Share this post

Here In My Car

www.thebignewsletter.com
3 Comments
Openminded
Jan 2

Ok, now please look into how SiriusXM is the only satellite radio available, and they are horrible!

Thanks.

Expand full comment
Reply
BinxBallin
Oct 15, 2022

Monopolies suck, but Gary Numan rox!

Expand full comment
Reply
1 more comment…
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Matt Stoller
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing