Everybody knows that album sales are down, and at least in the UK singles downloads are down as well, but the advancement of the computer age is leaving another segment of the music market in the dust as well: pianos. A mini-feature by Billboard sheds light on the rapid rate at which piano retailers are closing their doors amid a climate where folks just aren't shelling out for the most significant of instruments. Last year saw the sale of somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 pianos...compared to the instrument's peak year of 1909, when more than 364,000 were sold.
The main culprit cited: Kids just aren't that interested in playing the instrument anymore. One element of that is the frequent complaint we media types use to explain the death of newspapers: The internet makes people unwilling to spend hours perusing a paper when the internet constantly updates us on breaking news. Modern candy-crushing kids don't have the attention spans for piano tutelage. Another spin on the "blame kids" theory is that more and more children are spending more and more time on athletic activities, not leaving enough time for musical pursuits.
A more interesting theory on the demise of piano retailers is the fact that the instruments, when well-made, last nearly a lifetime. A well-maintained piano can provide music for up to 70 years, unlike well maintained automobiles that might last for 20. Technicians and tuners can repair aging instruments and sell them for much cheaper than a new instrument, and even the retailers interviewed for Billboard's article admit they sound on par with more recent models. When you consider that the average prize for a grand runs around $16,000, no kidding people are going to spring for the cheaper version.
Is the piano going extinct any time soon? No, but we may have reached the point where the market can't handle new additions.
