Do guitar industry struggles signal the death of rock 'n' roll?
'Guitar will always be a part of music,' Toronto indie band frontman says
Neil Young assures us that rock 'n' roll can never die in his iconic track Hey Hey, My My. But does the bankruptcy announcement from Gibson guitars — arguably one of rock music's most quintessential elements — indicate otherwise about the genre's future?
Gibson Brands Inc., responsible for guitars behind many of the most iconic rock anthems of our time, filed for bankruptcy protection this week, citing years of financial difficulties.
Industry observers say there's plenty of blame to go around for the decline but the consensus is that the electric guitar's glory days might be done.
In the past decade alone, sales of guitars in the U.S. have declined from 1.5 million to one million a year, according to Geoff Edgers, who has covered the struggling electric guitar industry as the national arts reporter at the Washington Post.
"When I was growing up it was sort of a central part of teenage culture; you always played a guitar. It's not quite that world anymore," he told The Current's guest host Piya Chattopadhyay.
Matt Hart, the frontman for Toronto indie band The Russian Futurists, said rock guitar isn't in its prime anymore — and he's not sad about it. In fact, his band doesn't even use the instrument.
Kids will continue to pick up guitars. I think it'll be just a shift in who's inspiring those kids.- Luke LaLonde, frontman and guitarist for indie rock band Born Ruffians
"I think guitar has become a default in rock music … I think it's a little bit like making a sandwich now for people making a song; they're like 'Well, of course we'll use bread,' just like they will with a guitar," Hart said.
What the electric guitar once was for budding artists, the sampler is today, according to Hart.
"I think that music is valid no matter what instrument you're using ... right now we don't see big rock stars because the big rock stars are hip hop emcees," he said.
Taylor Swift: Guitar hero?
Edgers argues that this popularity shift and the dropping sales numbers are indicative of a bigger loss: that of the guitar hero archetype.
"What I'm talking about is like Jimmy Page … who might not even actually be as good as another guitarist of the same time but is mystical and somebody that kids want to emulate. We don't have as many of those anymore."
Edgers's take on the death of the guitar hero isn't shared across the industry.
"Kids will continue to pick up guitars. I think it'll be just a shift in who's inspiring those kids … and it seems to be more and more women and non-white males," said Luke LaLonde, singer and guitarist for Born Ruffians, a Toronto indie rock band. "That might lead to another kind of revolution in guitar heroes."
LaLonde argues that just because rock music and guitar heroes aren't topping the charts these days doesn't mean the scene isn't alive and well.
"It's still cool!"
"There's a lot of 20-year-old kids out there playing guitars in bands, playing to a lot of people around the country. It's just not a focus in the mainstream media. It's more so about other genres; it's about pop and hip hop and that's what will define this era … It'll be about Drake, it'll be about Taylor Swift."
Burning out or fading away?
The face of music may be changing, but change doesn't indicate extinction.
The market for electric guitars is tumultuous and fragile, especially given the complicated dynamic of new versus old; when it comes to guitars, the weathered and the vintage are often sought after. So while Gibson's move for bankruptcy protection might strike fear in the hearts of guitar lovers everywhere, rock 'n' roll is here to stay, according to LaLonde.
"I think there's always going to be kids that see the Beatles or Nirvana or whoever — somebody with a guitar — and that's what they will want to do."
Even Hart, who favours the sampler, shares this idea.
"Let me just tell you, (electric guitar) is not going anywhere. It will be around forever, just as people still play the kalimba, like they did centuries ago," he said.
"Guitar will always be a part of music."
This segment was produced by The Current's Geoff Turner and Danielle Carr.