I notice that now, more than ever before, new upcoming artists’ and alternative music is heavily pop-oriented, synthesized, and digital.
Is it just easier for them or do Gen Z not have the fondness for guitar that dominated the 1980s to the 2010s?
I notice that now, more than ever before, new upcoming artists’ and alternative music is heavily pop-oriented, synthesized, and digital.
Is it just easier for them or do Gen Z not have the fondness for guitar that dominated the 1980s to the 2010s?
kagis
https://breakthroughguitar.com/think-playing-guitar-is-dying-think-again-the-stats-tell-a-different-story/
That doesn’t have a breakdown as to age of buyers, but if sales are less than half what they were two decades ago, I imagine that playing the guitar is probably less popular than it was at that point in time.
I’m not sure it’s that simple - maybe they are playing their Gen X parents’ guitars?
Their data mentions the demographics of people who play guitar, not just those who buy them. (In 2022) 18-34 are about 40% of guitar players with the largest share. Boomers also still play but don’t exert market influence.
That actually sounds like Gen X are the smaller guitar playing demographic, maybe? Could just be too busy with careers.
Speaking as a Gen X with a guitar… it was all about synthpop, rave and industrial. Who needed guitars in the 80s/90s anyway?
/s
It does seem unlikely that, regardless of interest in playing the instrument, sales would’ve done anything but slumped in recent decades. Can’t really envision buying brand new guitars being a high priority for young people who are seemingly worse and worse off over time