The Guitar Industry’s Midlife Crisis

After nearly a century of riffs, reissues, and reinvention, the guitar industry’s hit a strange point in its story, what I'm going to call the midlife-crisis years. 

Clinging to the past, chasing reissues, lusting after the 'good old days' and pretending everything’s fine when for many in MI right now it really isn't.

This isn’t just a story about brands. Retail’s right in the middle of it too.

We’ve all been guilty of trying to replay the hits and that’s fine 🎶 until the crowd starts leaving.

🥴 The hangover from the glory days

Many of today’s biggest brands are still building around the same formulas that worked in 2004. Same SKUs. Same sales model. Same tired products and messaging.

Meanwhile, some retailers are still running stores like it’s 1998 waiting for walk-ins, under-investing in digital, and discounting their way through every tough month.

The result? Nobody’s really winning. 

💸 Margins are shrinking, 👴🏻audiences are ageing, and 📉 attention is drifting elsewhere.

The customer grew up — and a new one was born.

Today’s core guitar buyer isn’t a teenager saving for their first Strat. They’re 35 to 55, digitally fluent, maybe rediscovering the instrument after years away. They’re financially stable, time poor, and inspired by creators rather than catalogues.

But while the industry still markets to them like it’s 2004, it’s missing the generation that doesn’t even know what a catalogue is.

The new players are growing up on YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and AI collabs. 

They don’t want to be rock stars — they want to be creators. 

They don’t care about tonewood, if Eric Clapton once licked one, if Pete Townshend smashed one or if Ted McCarty was involved in the bridge design. 

They care who they are when they plug in.

The industry’s mistake? It’s trying to talk to both audiences in the same language. And ending up resonating with neither.

⚰️ The casualties prove the point

We’ve already seen what happens when traditional models fail to evolve. Long-established retailers gone. Once-respected brands quietly closing their doors.

These aren’t bad businesses; they’re just built for an era that’s over. And sadly there’ll be more casualties before the reset is complete.

Because this isn’t a pricing or even a product problem. It’s a relevance problem.

🏪 Retail needs to stop waiting for the footfall

The next generation of successful shops won’t be the biggest they’ll be the most connected, they'll expand their reach with trusted marketplaces like reSound, collab with other retailers, brands and artists.

They’ll run stores like as musical hubs: places to record, create content, host workshops, give lessons and build community both in store and online. 🎥🎶

They’ll measure success in relationships, not just revenue.

Stores that rely on footfall alone will keep shrinking. Stores that build their own loyal audience will thrive. 🚀

🧭 Brands need to stop recycling their glory years

Heritage is valuable but not if it becomes an excuse to stand still and keep looking backwards. If you're not innovating you're evaporating.

The most interesting brands in 2025 aren’t trying to be the next Fender or Marshall. They’re building distinct new voices, experimenting with sustainability, creator partnerships, and storytelling that actually moves people. 🌱🎤

Meanwhile, many brands are still re-hashing last year’s catalogue and hoping for the best. The problem is hope is not a plan.

💡 The crisis isn’t demand — it’s imagination

People still love guitars. They just want to love them differently. We’ve confused nostalgia with authenticity and predictability with stability.

The future won’t belong to whoever sells the most units. It’ll belong to whoever can build belief and trust.

🔁 The comeback story starts here

It’s time to stop chasing yesteryear and start building our legacy. Stop regurgitating what worked twenty years ago and start shaping what matters tomorrow.

Players are more engaged, creative, and diverse than ever many just don’t see themselves reflected in the industry anymore. 🎶

🚨 The reset isn’t optional

The guitar industry’s next chapter will belong to those who treat adaptation as a daily practice, not a campaign.

If you’re a retailer — start building experiences that make your store a destination again. 

If you’re a brand — invest in your story, not marketing spin. 

If you’re both — start collaborating like the future depends on it.

Ask yourself:

“If we launched today, would we run the business the same way?”

If yes then all good, crack on. If the answer’s no, that’s your signal. 

The midlife crisis ends the moment the reinvention begins. 🔥