DESPITE the modern technology that allows easier access to music and production, the business of the music industry still slowly copes – thanks to the younger generation’s lingering interest on traditional modes of listening to and producing music, said a music store executive.
The Filipinos had been tagged as musically-inclined by different nationalities and by Filipinos themselves especially because of the love of videoke and musical instrument-playing. Because of this, JB Music Chief Operating Officer Jerico Fernando said the music industry of the country continues to survive despite being in the tough seas.
He added that this statement on the Filipinos’ love for music is supported by the fact that employment agencies specifically for musicians are still everywhere employing around Filipino musicians on cruise ships. As a matter of fact, Fernando said, musicians on cruise ships are about 90 percent Filipinos.
“As for the Original Pinoy Music (OPM), I think everybody is helping each other promote themselves despite the changes in technology and music,” Fernando said.
As far as their company JB Music is concerned, he said children and churches still buy the analog instruments such as guitars, keyboards, and drum sets but globally he said there was a noted decline of purchased analog guitars. In 2015 there were a total of about 2.5 million guitars sold globally. This decreased to only about 1.5 million guitars by the following year.
“Globally, we’re probably not growing but surviving. The music industry in terms of purchase of analog equipment and music is not growing as it is now easier to just go to your laptop, pre-record a tune, or go to a DJ for music,” said Fernando.
In the Philippines, however he was glad that still a lot of young kids are still buying instruments from them. JB Music’s most sellable product is their acoustic guitars as he thinks is the basic and the easiest to learn and create music from.
Surprisingly, he said the younger generations now are much interested in purchasing turntables and sometimes even including an entire album.
“The culture with the young kids now is that they like indie, not really the traditional music. They like independent music and musicians. It’s really about lifestyle change – being hipster. And so the interest on traditional music players and analog instruments are coming back,” said Fernando.
JB Music is on its 44th year of bringing music and selling instruments to Filipinos and currently Fernando notices a pattern on traditional music players being sold to the younger generation.