Across corporate America, as well as the small business community, the holiday season is largely recognized as a time of opportunity. It’s in these days when even the most frugal shoppers open their wallets, and when many begin to justify their dream purchases.
Each year, company leaders determine how much revenue they should yield from quarter four, creating strategies for how to optimize sales from the three-month period. Music shops Guitar Czar, Pro Musician Outlet, and the Guitar Shop and Learning Center participated in similar traditions for several years. That said, business ended for each of them in 2025 before the season of giving began.
“I feel bad I have to close this down in the first place,” says Troy Haun, owner of Guitar Shop and Learning, when asked about what the future holds for his employees. “It’s due to a lot of things at this particular location.”
These shops are not alone in their recent closures. Throughout the world, many brick-and-mortar guitar stores have ceased operations. In May of 2024, retail-giant Sam Ash filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closing 42 locations. Almost one year later, English chain Play Music Today shut down their 11 franchises across the United Kingdom.
Each of these endings took place within just five years after the music retail industry underwent a resurgence. Broadening their target audience with individuals eyeing a pandemic pass-time, businesses like these sold $8.9 billion in 2021, according to data from Music Trades — up 22 percent from the previous year. Today, many of those aspiring musicians are now selling their gear.
While a decrease in interest has hurt these operations, shop managers have noticed a myriad of problems in the 2025 market, including rising lease prices, back orders and federal government decisions. For former Guitar Czar general manager Kameron Anton, these issues have created a perfect storm for slowdowns extending beyond music.
“When things started to get more expensive, people stopped shopping, period,” says Anton. “Talking with other music stores in this industry, I’m trying to get hired at one of them right now because that’s what I’ve done for the last almost 20 years, but other stores have laid off staff this year and they aren’t looking to take on more people regardless of my experience level.”
State of the industry
Prior to its closing, The Guitar Shop and Learning Center was crippled by one of the industry’s most notable trends. According to Haun, five to 10 students would quit lessons before the beginning of summer during a typical year, with half coming back when school started as well as new faces. In 2025 however, the business lost 20-30 students before the last day of class, and many didn’t return.
As interest in learning decreased, the store began receiving more calls asking if they were buying gear.
Guitar Czar was sent these questions as well. Anton says that every one in three calls the store received near their closure centered on whether they would purchase used items.
For players, the state of the market has brought new options to buy desired gear at a low price. One of Haun’s students in Florida, for example, used Facebook Marketplace to buy a mint-condition Gretsch guitar for $250 — an instrument that typically retails for $700 new.
“At the end of the day, we went from a used market during COVID-19 that was non-existent because you couldn’t buy new stuff, so these prices got super inflated,” says Anton. “Now, we are at the other end of that where so many people had to go back to work. … Stuff got so expensive that it was like, ‘okay, well I like playing guitar, but I don’t need three of them.’ Then the market got flooded with used stuff.”
Apart from these challenges, Haun also says that back orders plagued his shop. Popular entry-level kits from Fender, which typically sell best during the holiday season, were delayed until January. Dilemmas like these have prompted many beginner players to find cheap products from online retailers like Amazon and Sweetwater.
Tariffs
Throughout 2025, the Trump administration’s tariffs have had numerous impacts on the economy. In the guitar industry, these actions have affected manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike — each in different ways.
While a variety of models from international brands have been introduced to the market in the last 50 years, American companies have shared a significant presence in the space since before the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll. Brands like Gibson, Fender and C.F. Martin & Company have become some of the country’s most established entities. And like their competitors an ocean away, they aren’t exempt from federal sanctions.
Both Gibson and Fender operate subsidiary brands, which assemble at factories throughout the world. Additionally, instruments produced at plants in areas like China and Mexico famously feature Fender’s name. While the two companies’ high-end products are traditionally “Made in America,” they purchase several resources overseas to maintain quality.
According to a blog post by Gibson, they import mahogany indigenous to Guatemala and Fiji for their best models. For fretboards, the business uses rosewood from India and Brazil.
Industry reactions to the tariffs have been far from mild. This year, Fender instituted 5 percent price increases across their portfolio. Adam Ohweiler, owner of Guitars and More in South Jordan, says that some of the brands he carries have raised their prices three times this year — with some even lessening store margins.
According to Anton, costs like these played a significant role in Guitar Czar’s closure.
“After reading all of the comments from all the other news agencies that came here from KSL and Fox, … it’s like ‘man, everyone’s an expert and everyone knows more than we do,’” says Anton. “At the end of the day, I’m the one sitting here getting the repercussions for decisions that were out of our control. The tariffs had a lot to do with that.”
Though Haun says that tariffs impacted his pricing structure, he believes they played a minor role in the declining interest across the guitar market.
“Sales haven’t been incredible, so it could be due to tariffs. I haven’t really had people come through like ‘this is so expensive. I can’t do it,’” says Haun. “The tariffs have definitely raised prices on things, but I think it’s hard to say what’s caused a slowdown in sales. I think there’s all these other factors mixed with tariffs.”
The future
For stores like Guitars and More, business continues. Recently, the owner reached an agreement with Gibson to become a dealer for their products, introducing new items to their walls. As for Haun, he’ll be operating from The Guitar Shop and Learning Center’s sister store in Florida.
While the sales professionals at Guitar Czar have been displaced by the closure, some of the technicians have purchased the store’s equipment and branched off to begin their own business. For locations still in business, Anton’s advice is simple:
“Start expanding your revenue streams. Figure something else out. Scheme in a different way. I think that kind of comes down to you having to start doing other stuff. You may have to start renting. You may have to start doing classes. You may have to start busting your butt like you’ve never done before just to get by as a business owner or a manager.”
