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Škoda redesigns the bicycle bell for urban safety

Škoda DuoBell, Škoda, Czech Republic

Europe – Škoda Auto has unveiled DuoBell, a bicycle bell engineered to cut through active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones, addressing rising safety risks in urban environments.

ANC systems work by detecting external sound waves and generating opposing signals to cancel them out, often suppressing common alert frequencies such as traditional bicycle bells. DuoBell counters this by targeting a narrow ‘safety gap’ of between 750Hz and 780Hz – frequencies less effectively filtered by ANCs. It also uses irregular, rapid strikes that are harder for ANC systems to process in real time. Testing showed pedestrians gained up to 22 metres of additional reaction distance with DuoBell.

In Quiet Mode, we track the rise of features from technology and social media companies that help people shut out the outside world. Škoda Auto’s DuoBell responds by balancing this desire for immersive, private listening with the practical need for awareness and safety in shared urban environments.

Strategic opportunity

Design adaptive systems that respond to shifting urban mobility patterns – screen-free navigation tools or ANC traffic signals, for example – to ensure safety and communication remain effective in fast-changing city environments

Why Jaded London is using music and community to redefine retail

Jaded London, US

US – Jaded London has opened its first permanent US stores, in Los Angeles and New York City, translating its online cult following into physical, experience-driven retail environments.

The British brand launched on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in March 2026, with its Soho, New York, store opening days later. Rather than traditional expansion, the move centres on creating spaces where its community can gather, experiment and engage with the brand in three dimensions.

The Melrose Avenue store channels a post-night-out atmosphere, anchored by a large white bed and an immersive sound system designed to encourage dwell time. A collaboration with Kreation makes coconut milk available as a morning-after recovery drink.

In New York, Jaded London has transformed a former bank vault into a forthcoming sound room, reinforcing its music-first retail strategy.

Jaded London’s US stores signal a shift away from product-first, transactional retail towards experience-led, community-centric environments, where cultural relevance drives footfall. For retail businesses, this underscores the growing importance of designing spaces that prioritise emotional engagement, multisensory storytelling and social interaction.

For further insights on how culture and sound are driving a retail revolution, read our Luxury Listening Rooms and Culture-coded Retail reports.

Strategic opportunity

Rethink stores as sonic, social environments where discovery, fulfilment and belonging work together to turn dwell time into cultural currency

Stat: Music industry revenues break records as digital dominance and physical revival converge

Dyson OnTrac noise-cancelling headphones, Global

Global – Worldwide music revenues reached a record £23.4bn ($31.7bn, €26.9bn) in 2025, an increase of 6.4% year-on-year, according to IFPI’s latest State of the Industry report – the 11th consecutive year of growth following nearly two decades of decline.

Streaming dominates, accounting for 70% of total revenues and generating £16.2bn ($22bn, €18.6bn) annually. This reflects the normalisation of on-demand entertainment platforms, including film and television as well as music.

The continuing strength of streaming services points to listeners who want frictionless, everyday access. But the more telling signal is what’s happening at the margins. Physical music sales climbed to £3.9bn ($5.3bn, €4.5bn), their highest level in over a decade, as consumers increasingly seek out the tactile listening experiences that digital distribution cannot replicate.

For brands, that split appetite is an invitation to think about how products and experiences can serve different registers of attention.

In Streaming’s Next Frontier, we explore this tension and the opportunities emerging at the intersection of digital and physical entertainment.

Strategic opportunity

Frictionless interfaces for everyday consumption remain essential, but as people increasingly seek to experience music physically, the opportunity is in creating spaces and objects that make listening feel like an event worth showing up for – think listening rooms, audio-driven members’ clubs or record libraries in retail