Musical instrument sales experience spike during coronavirus lockdown

Gear4music have revealed that sales have experienced a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, with sales between April and June rising 80% to £21.2million.

The BBC reports that electric and acoustic guitar starter bundles were among the big sellers, and chief executive Andrew Wass also added that digital pianos were selling particularly well.

Wass told the BBC, "People are interested in having a really good hobby that they can get into. Maybe they played music at school and have found themselves indoors and decided to come back to it."

The Gear4music chief executive also revealed that people buying podcasting equipment was increasingly popular, "It seems everybody wants to be a podcaster and they're buying into really professional set-ups at home," he said.

He also notes that sales on gig speakers and PA systems haven't been selling as well, likely a knock-on effect from the lack of concerts happening due to coronavirus.

Wass said the first three weeks of lockdown were "the most difficult weeks of my business life", and adds that "the staff were very keen to continue and it's thanks to them we've been able to do so."