Piano stores closing as fewer children taking up instrument

In this Dec. 3, 2014, photo, Jim Foster talks about his career at his Foster Family Music Center piano store, in Bettendorf, Iowa. Foster is closing his store this month after being in business for nearly 30 years. The number of stores dedicated to selling pianos is dwindling across the country as fewer people take up the instrument and those who do opt for a used piano or a less expensive electronic keyboard. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) In this Dec. 3, 2014, photo, Jim Foster talks about his career at his Foster Family Music Center piano store, in Bettendorf, Iowa. Foster is closing his store this month after being in business for nearly 30 years. The number of stores dedicated to selling pianos is dwindling across the country as fewer people take up the instrument and those who do opt for a used piano or a less expensive electronic keyboard. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

By Associated Press January 2, 2015 4 min read

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) – When Jim Foster opened his piano store 30 years ago, he had 10 competitors selling just pianos.

When he closed Foster Family Music in late December, not one was still selling pianos in the Quad-Cities area of Iowa and Illinois.

“We did try hard to find a buyer,” Foster said. There were no takers.

Stores dedicated to selling pianos like Foster’s are dwindling across the country as fewer people take up the instrument and those who do often opt for a less expensive electronic keyboard or a used piano. Some blame computers and others note the high cost of new pianos, but what’s clear is that a long-term decline in sales has accelerated.

The best year for new piano sales in the U.S. was 1909, when more than 364,500 were sold. But after gently falling over the years, piano sales have plunged more recently to between 30,000 and 40,000 annually.