The guitar is as popular as ever

So why do naysayers think the instrument is dying? Headlines haven’t been kind to guitars. Slipping sales year over year doesn’t help and even Eric Clapton was quoted as saying that he wondered if the instrument was on its way out. “Maybe the guitar is over,” he mused, responding to reports that guitar sales had crashed half a million in a single decade and that industry leaders Gibson and Fender were both in debt. Gibson did announce that it is filing for bankruptcy.

According to an article in Rolling Stone magazine, this is all well and good but not all quite accurate. Guitar sales in many markets are on the rise, and the industry is in one of its more optimistic times. Even if today’s music fans are more likely to worship pop stars and rappers than their parents’ guitar heroes, there isn’t much to indicate that the guitar is over.

Gibson’s bankruptcy is more about its mistakes than the popularity of the guitar. They took on an audio and home electronics business in 2014 that was riddled with debt and it was a bad move. They are trying to rid themselves of that division and restructure around its core business of musical instruments.

Acoustic guitar sales have soared in the last few years. There are many pop stars, like Taylor Swift, who can play and aren’t afraid to show it. It is also still wildly popular in the country music genre. The guitar is a great instrument to learn, doesn’t involve your windpipes, and is relatively easy to cart around. For anyone wanting to make music, it still is the best way to go.

Another reason why guitar sales may not be as high as once before is that people are upcycling. Most young, starving artists cannot afford a brand new guitar so they opt to find a music store that sells used ones. There is no better way to learn guitar and it is a wonderful idea to help protect our environment. The guitar isn’t dying even if sales are.

Just because hip-hop and pop are digitizing their music doesn’t mean there aren’t thousands of guitar bands recording and holding concerts every year. It does mean that guitar makers may need to find new customers. These new customers can come from anywhere. Young female music stars are donning their guitars and showing the boys a thing or two. Guitar-wielding women have made some of the most remarkable albums. Historically the guitar buyers market was almost all male, but the girls are giving them a run for their money.

If you love the guitar as we do, take guitar lessons in Philadelphia and get rocking the way the guitar was meant to be played. The David Joel Guitar Studio can help you get started or help you brush up if it’s been a minute.

Visit The David Joel Guitar Studio today and get your inner rock god going!

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