There’s been talk these days about the apparent death of the electric guitar, leaving lots of folks worried about the state of the MI market. But, the truth is, it isn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, things are looking quite positive.

Businesswire recently reported that according to Technavio, the global musical instruments market is expected to register growth of approximately 3% during the period 2018-2022. What do they attribute this to? It’s the increasing popularity of attending live music events. We all knew concerts were special, and yes, the pendulum is swinging in the direction of people getting off their couches and experiencing live music.

In addition, as disposable income has increased, the trend of purchasing musical instruments online continues to grow. How does this benefit you? Here are a few tips on you can capitalize on the growing MI market!

Tap into musical trends.

You’ve probably heard the chatter that acoustic guitar sales are up, thanks to artists like Ed Sheeran who have grabbed the public ear. Check out the Billboard Heatseekers and Emerging Artists charts. See what kind of instruments and equipment those bands are playing. Take a look at the local music scene and talk to fans. You’ll want to be ahead of new trends, not trailing behind. Don’t just wait for customers to come to you. Get into the scene and put your finger on the pulse!

Get educated.

It’s been no secret that music education is great for the brain and benefits students in many areas outside of music. One study indicated that students who had experience with music performance scored 63 and 44 points higher on the verbal and math sections of the SAT, respectively.

In 2017, new arts standards defined by the National Core were adopted by 14 states and are expected to continue growing in popularity. That means more music in the schools…a trend we are happy to see! But don’t forget that music in the schools is evolving. More guitar classes, more use of online portals, more recording and collaboration. Make sure you offer products and programs that fit these trends and budgets. Ask teachers what they need. Ask students what they love. Get involved in school and district-wide bids for purchase. You get the idea!

Break beyond the screen.

Thankfully there seems to be a backlash in the works against iPhone isolation and lone couch surfing. Can you find a way to integrate your product or service into a more social event or service? For example, maybe you host the musical instrument space or a weekly lesson at WeWork, so that workshare users can take a break and learn a song. How about sponsoring a local party series for under 18 guests? You’ll get teenagers involved with your brand and can interact, get opinions and be part of their good time. Finding new ways to inject your product into new social trends is the key.

Growing markets.

Growing sales usually means tapping into growing market segments. We’ve talked about the music education market here, and there are other segments that are seeing growth as well.  Understanding them better can help you take part in the upswing. Female musicians continue to increase. The Hispanic market is on the rise. Hip hop, EDM and the DJ market continues to grow in popularity. The key to taking advantage of segment trends is to make sure you have conversations with the members of those communities. Host informal test groups. Chat with group members about their needs and likes. It’s important to approach target markets you aren’t as familiar with in a genuine way, so getting insider info is key.

Offer a unique presence online.

There are several companies in our industry that have really gotten it right. Take Reverb.com for example. They’ve created an amazing online marketplace for music gear that’s easy to use, looks great and gets your product seen by thousands of musicians. If you are a music company that sells online, you’ll need to offer another reason besides price to get folks to buy from you. Competing only on price is a race to the bottom, and who wants to go there? Create unique bundles, sell autographed merchandise, offer an affinity points program, or have unique offers only for “members.” There are a million ways you can capitalize on the online trend and make shopping with you as special as it is in person.

Looking for more tips? Get in touch with us, we’d love to help.

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If you’re looking for marketing strategy, PR, artist relations, social media marketing, graphic design, websites, and all the rest for music and audio, you’ve come to the right place. With over 25 years in the music industry, we know what makes musicians tick. Contact Mad Sun Marketing today: info@mad-sun.com.

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