Reviving
BAND INSTRUMENTS
One of the Pandemic ’ s Hardest-Hit Categories is Bouncing Back – but There ’ s Work To Do
PHOTO : PXHERE
By Michael Raine
Overall , the pandemic has been pretty good to the MI industry . As we ’ ve covered at various points over the last two and a half years , many product categories saw a significant boost from the extra time and cash that people had during the months of lockdowns and other restrictions . The money they typically spent on activities outside the home – trips , restaurants , concerts , etc . – was being redirected to more housebound activities . For many , this meant picking back up that instrument that had been gathering dust for years , or for dedicated musicians , splurging on some new gear . We all know that anything to do with guitar and home recording sold exceptionally well in 2020 and 2021 , as did keyboards , drums , and even banjos and accordions . In the U . S .,
Guitar Center reported an 85 % increase in overall instrument sales in August 2020 and Sweetwater experienced a 50 % increase in customers . The many conversations I ’ ve had with retailers , distributors , and manufacturers back up the assumption that things were equally robust in Canada . There is one corner of the instrument market that got hurt bad , however , and that is band instruments .
With school music programs and concerts shut down or extremely restricted , the foundation of the band instrument market was ripped away . But that was then and this is now . School programs are more or less back , concerts and events have returned , and there ’ s plenty of reason for optimism again . But with the diminishment of one massive challenge has come new headaches in the form of inflation and major supply chain issues .
With all this in mind , it ’ s worth taking a look at what happened to the band instrument market during the pandemic , the current health of the market , and what can be done to help its recovery .
“ The pandemic had a huge impact on wind and brass instrument sales and rentals . The first year of the pandemic saw drops of over 50 % in those categories ,” reveals Long & McQuade ’ s Director of Band , Print , and Educational Sales , Adam Stokholm , to Canadian Music Trade . He adds that woodwind and brass instruments were the worst hit , but orchestral string instrument sales remained fairly steady throughout the pandemic . “ The initial drops in band business were fairly uniform across the country , but as time went on , some regions were able to integrate modified band programs into their schools using
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