Demand for music instruments has reportedly soared during the coronavirus pandemic, with lockdown measures prompting local and international customers to buy guitars and more online.
The news comes as the UK’s biggest musical instrument and audio equipment maker, Gear4music, achieved a 80% year-on-year jump in sales for the April – June period.
Gear4music ships to international locations like Australia, and including overseas sales quarterly figures spiked 68% year-on-year to £37.3m.
According to ABC and KidsNews, many home-bound consumers are resurrecting childhood talents for musical instruments, leading some local stores to fare ‘busier than Christmas’ demand during COVID19:
“On a normal day during the year we might have a couple of boxes of stock come in buy now we have had about five to six pallets a day,” said manager of Manny’s, Jamie Hanford.
Data from the Australian Music Association (AMA) reveals annual imports of ukuleles down under had notched 200,000.
The figure is around 50,000 units above the next most important instrument – the acoustic guitar.
Demand for instruments such as drums, guitars and ukuleles has spiked, with a significant online shopping rise mirroring wider industry trends.
Despite the growth, some local musical instrument stores assert the coronavirus pandemic has impacted Asian supply chains, causing stock shortages to hamper demand.
“… unfortunately when we contacted the manufacturer, he said there’s no workers, the office is closed, the factory’s closed… we can’t ship it for you,” said Concept Music owner, Graham Hoskins to the ABC.
Financial year AMA numbers are yet to be released, however, are speculated to demonstrate further increases.
In 2019, electronic instruments jumped 20%, with turntables decreasing 10% and e-drums up 5%.
