The demand for guitars has gone through the roof throughout the pandemic. According to Fender CEO Andy Mooney in an interview with CNBC's The Exchange, about 16 million Americans bought a guitar in 2021 along. This is especially shocking considering that supply chain issues have driven prices up on guitars "about 10 percent," according to Mooney.
"We actually just completed a very comprehensive research project and found that in the U.S. alone 16 million entrants – seven percent of the entire population picked up guitar, in many cases for the first time, last year. So there's massive amounts of new people coming in and trying to find the best guitar for them to learn the instrument."
Mooney added that the demand is "truly remarkable the demand that's out there. People wanna use their time at home wisely and invest in activities they really feel good about." Equally interesting is the demographic of Americans buying the guitars. Mooney noted that of the 16 million, nearly two-thirds were between 16 and 34, and that the growth in the industry because of the surge has been excellent.
"Pre-Covid, the industry was growing at 10 percent. At the height of Covid, it had grown at 35-plus percent. We anticipate it continuing to grow at least at the pre-Covid rate, if not more."
