COVID-19 pandemic boosts instrument sales
Guitars, digital keyboards flying off shelves
Cream City Music sold more guitars in the last year than ever before in company history.
It was entirely unexpected.
The Brookfield shop and its website focus on retail sales and repairs of new, used and vintage guitars. When the 7,000-square-foot store is packed, more than 1,000 guitars, amps and effects are out on the sales floor.
The store expected people might hang on to their money during the pandemic.
“It was quite the opposite,” said Brian Douglas, who owns Cream City Music with two business partners.
Cream City Music is still tallying up
its 2020 sales figures. Douglas estimates revenue was up around 50%, which is unusual for small retail businesses that typically increase sales slowly.
“We are able to provide people with something that brings joy in a really difficult time,” Douglas said.
Guitar, piano sales up sharply
The guitar and piano are the instruments of the pandemic. Demand for guitars, pianos and especially digital keyboards have increased since the pandemic forced people to spend more time at home.
Fender Guitars is reporting record sales. Yamaha Corp. said sales of digital keyboards are up. Online musical instrument marketplace Reverb has increased sales. National retail chain Guitar Center reported that sales were up year over year in August. The chain is also in the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Consumers have been more interested in spending money on goods during the pandemic while the service industry suffers.
“We experienced the most incredible period of growth that the company has ever seen from the end of March to the present day,” Douglas said. Cream City Music opened in 2006 and Douglas’ group bought it in 2013.
Cream City Music’s online sales brought explosive growth. Sales are still trending upward as the shop heads into 2021.
“The American consumer has been forever changed by the pandemic with the ease of business online, the broad selection and the general convenience,” Douglas said. “The need to have the guitar in hands has faded away.”
Many makers of guitars and other instruments stopped production last spring, leading to a backlog of orders.
“It’s a battle getting the hot inventory,” said Wade’s Guitar Shop Owner Wade Starck. Total revenue has been down around 40%, Starck said, but things started to look better at the end of the year.
“December, in terms of sales and repairs, was our most normal months during COVID,” Starck said.
Strong e-commerce sales made for a successful year, said Ben Koshick, who manages sales for Dave’s Guitar Shop in Milwaukee.
“To be honest, you hate to say it,” Koshick said. “We as a company are super happy that people can pursue their passions, but you feel bad saying that.”
Big sellers were beginner- and intermediatelevel guitars, he said.
At his most optimistic, Koshick said he hopes all the guitar sales lead to a creative renaissance and new music. It is also possible that the used guitar market will be flooded with inventory when the pandemic is over.
White House Music’s six locations across southeastern Wisconsin will have a “middle of the road year” said President and CEO Chris White.
Sales of guitars, digital pianos and keyboards are up.
“They are individualized instruments,” White said. “People don’t need to gather in concert settings or group settings to play.”
For most of the time during the pandemic, White said people coming to his shops were returning to music.
“I got some time on my hands, so I’m going to take it back up,” they tell him.
At the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, overall enrollment in lessons is down slightly since teaching went entirely virtual this spring, said Director of Education Teresa Drews. Some students paused lessons, planning to return when instruction would take place in person. Some have returned as the pandemic continued on. The conservatory first started offering Zoom lessons more than two years ago.
The conservatory has a class of newly inspired students starting lessons during the pandemic. About half the new students at the conservatory are signing up for piano or guitar lessons, Drews said. Many are picking up the instrument for the first time.
“Piano and guitar are accompanying instruments,” Drews said. “It’s something to sing along with. You can be a one-man band.”
Korinthia Klein, who owns Korinthian Violins, said overall revenue is down with the shop’s teaching studio closed. Her repair bench has been busy. Rentals continue as normal.
“We’re not benefiting from the pandemic by any means, but we are still here,” Klein said.
Klein published a repair guide, “My Violin Needs Help!” in September, which has gained popularity as people play more often at home.
“For most people, music isn’t an extra thing,” Klein said. “It’s an important thing — it’s meaningful, therapeutic and joyful.”
Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Instagram @HauerSarah and Twitter @SarahHauer. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Be MKE at jsonline.com/bemke.