This is a really good question. There is a simple answer and I’m going to tell you right up front. Last year there were around 30,000 pianos sold in this country. That might sound like a lot or maybe not particularly. If you consider that over one hundred years ago, when there were less than 100 million people in this country, ten times more people bought pianos. In fact, at the peak, there were some 146,000 pianos with a population less than a third of what it is today!
The piano was as ubiquitous as television is today. Every home had to have them. They were the original home entertainment technology and it was a de facto standard. Player pianos were incredibly popular and you could sing along with them as well as play along with them. Everybody had to have pianos. Not so much today, as I mentioned earlier, only a little over 30,000 pianos were sold in the United States last year.
Contrast that with China which sold around 140,000 pianos in the last year! That’s really where people are clamoring for pianos in the world and of course my mission in life is to spread the joy of piano and encourage people because I can’t even imagine growing up without a piano. I believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience a piano. I hope you’ve enjoyed this video! This is Robert Estrin at LivingPianos.com, hour online piano store. info@LivingPianos.com 949-244-3729