The Rise and Fall of Pono: 7 Product Lessons from Neil Young’s Audio Dream
Pono, the high-fidelity audio player brainchild of music legend Neil Young, promised to revolutionize how we listen to music. Instead, it flopped — hard. And honestly? The writing was on the wall from the start.
In 2014, Neil Young launched Pono, a digital music player and service designed to bring high-fidelity audio to the masses. The project gained momentum through a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, raising over $6 million, and the PonoPlayer hit the market in early 2015. But despite the hype, Pono was discontinued by 2017, failing to make a lasting impact.
Pono’s creators stumbled into seven avoidable mistakes that every product maker — whether crafting hardware, software, or anything in between — needs to steer clear of. Let’s break them down and see what we can learn from this Toblerone-shaped cautionary tale.
Mistake #1: Thinking You Are Your User
Neil Young isn’t just a rock icon — he’s a sonic purist with an ear finer than a Stradivarius. Digital audio formats like MP3s and standard streaming? Beneath him. He assumed the rest of us felt the same way, yearning for studio-quality sound in our pockets. Spoiler: Most of us don’t notice — or care. Your users aren’t you. Build for them, not your own tastes.
Mistake #2: Assuming Expertise in One Field Translates to Product Design
Neil Young has been creating incredible music for over 60 years, consistently resonating with fans. That gut instinct works wonders for art, but it’s a liability in product design. Intuition alone can’t bridge the gap between a cool idea and a functional, market-ready device. Product success demands more than a golden hunch — it needs rigor.
Mistake #3: Ignoring the Data
Picture this: It’s 2014. iPod sales are tanking while smartphones soar. Streaming services like Spotify are taking over, and people love the convenience of one device and a monthly subscription. Did Young see this tidal shift and think, “Nah, my player will buck the trend”? Either he ignored the numbers — or genuinely believed Pono’s pristine audio could rewrite consumer behavior. Data isn’t optional; it’s your compass.
Mistake #4: Guessing What Users Want
Young bet big that people would shell out $400 for a dedicated audio player with all the iPod’s downsides plus a clunky, Toblerone shape. But here’s the kicker: Pono’s Kickstarter campaign raised $6.4 million, proving some folks were intrigued — at least by the promise. The hype reel featured legends like Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Elton John, Tom Petty, Sting, Arcade Fire, Flea, James Taylor, and Elvis Costello raving about the sound. Confirmation bias much? They’re not your average listener. Assuming user needs without asking? That’s a recipe for disaster.
Mistake #5: Skipping (or Botching) User Testing
Pono’s whole pitch hinged on superior audio quality. But did they test if regular people could hear the difference? In 2015, Yahoo Tech’s David Pogue — a musician himself — ran a blind test with 15 people, ages 17 to 55. Same songs, same headphones, two players: Pono’s uncompressed format vs. an iPhone’s AAC (16-bit/256Kbps). Guess what? The iPhone won. Turns out, human ears can barely discern beyond CD quality (16-bit/44.1 kHz). Pono’s 24-bit/192 kHz files were overkill — unless you’re Neil Young or a bat. Test your assumptions, folks.
Mistake #6: Not Understanding Your Tech
Years later, Young blamed Pono’s demise on record labels, saying “they killed it by charging two or three times more for high-res files than MP3s.” Neil, buddy, those files were 24 times larger than MP3s. Bigger files mean higher storage and distribution costs — plus the headache of supporting a niche format. If you don’t grasp the tech underpinning your product, you’re flying blind.
Mistake #7: Outsourcing Your Core
Pono didn’t build its own music download platform; it leaned on Omnifone. Big mistake. In 2016, Apple swooped in, bought Omnifone, and left Pono’s online store dead in the water. The company scrambled to promise its own platform, but it was too little, too late. By April 2017, Pono was officially toast, leaving backers with a fancy, useless prism. Handing off a critical piece of your product to a third party? That’s a gamble you can’t afford to lose.
The Aftermath — and the Real Lesson
Young’s postmortem was telling: “I cared and assumed most of the world would care.” Oof. Pouring millions into an unvalidated idea is a brutal way to learn that passion doesn’t equal demand. Pono’s noble mission — to deliver music as the artist intended — couldn’t overcome its missteps. Hindsight’s 20/20, sure, and other factors may have played a role. But with these seven blunders, Pono never stood a chance.
From Mistakes to Wisdom: 7 Product Takeaways
Let’s flip the script and turn these flops into actionable advice:
- You’re not your user. Build for their needs, not your preferences.
- Intuition isn’t enough. Back it up with process and evidence.
- Don’t dodge the data. Let it guide your decisions.
- Ask, don’t assume. Find out what users actually want.
- Test with real people. Validate your hypotheses early and often.
- Know your tech. Understand the nuts and bolts of what you’re building.
- Own your core. Don’t let third parties hold your fate.
Neil Young wanted to change how we hear music. Instead, Pono became a masterclass in what not to do. Let’s honor its legacy by building smarter.
I am Carlos Sánchez, Head of Product at Real Madrid and Co-founder of saferlayer.com. You can follow me on X.
