Source: Bloomberg
It is no longer a manifestation of wealth and social status, and piano is losing attractiveness to Chinese middle -class families.
In the idea of "spending money on the blade", Rosie stopped his daughter's piano class.Because of the epidemic relationship, she had a small income of working out of outbound tourism in a travel agency, and her husband working in the bank has swept half a year after the financial industry's salary reduction."The economic environment is not good, making money is getting more and more difficult," Rosie, who is willing to reveal the English name, choose to take a rest.
This is just a side shadow of Chinese piano consumption.In January, the largest piano manufacturer of China, the listed company, Pearl River Piano's warning of 2023 decreased by more than 90 % year -on -year.Another listed Helen piano is expected to record a net loss throughout the year.In terms of output, the Financial reported that the total piano production fell to about 190,000 last year, which was "cut" from four years ago.In the context of the slowdown in the economic slowdown and the continuous impact of residents' wealth, large -scale consumption such as piano has been dragged down, and the industry is no longer.
A survey made by Southwest University of Finance and Economics and the Ant Group Research Institute, etc., showed that an indicator of family wealth and income decreased for three consecutive quarters.The quarterly 13%rose to 22%."Like other durable products such as cars and household appliances, piano sales are also affected by income expectations and wealth effects." Said Xing Zhaopeng, a senior Chinese strategist at Australia and New Bank.
In addition to the consideration of family wealth, other factors such as the decline in population, the reform of the artistic specialty, and the promotion of traditional culture, it also makes it difficult for the piano industry to return to its peak.
I have loved
The Chinese love for the piano can be traced back to decades.In the 1960s, this musical instrument was considered a symbol of the bourgeoisie.However, with the reform and opening up, the piano has become a "luxury goods" affordable for the middle class.China has also encouraged the cultivation of music literacy through educational policies for a long time. Some students who have passed the high -level piano art level test even have the opportunity to get extra points in the competitive college entrance examination. There is a certain connection between piano performance and education success.The penetration rate rises rapidly.However, these incentives have been canceled in recent years.
Since 2000, as residents' income has increased, the middle class has expanded rapidly, and learning piano is no longer a big burden.During this period, many movies about piano produced in China, including steel pianos, showed Chinese families' love for piano.Xinhua News Agency reported that Wang Shicheng, president of the Industry Organization China Musical Instrument Association, said at the press conference at the end of January this year that by 2019, China's piano production and sales will reach 390,000, accounting for 75%of the global market share.
Wang Shicheng also pointed out that since the second half of 2020, due to the various external superposition factors, the piano production and sales have declined significantly.Interviews and requests for piano output data over the past few years.
In a piano shop visited in early February in Bloomberg News, some pianos were sold for 10 % off, but they were still empty.A clerk surnamed Tang said: "I have worked in this industry for more than 10 years and have never seen such a big discount." He added that the sales situation in 2023 was worse than the epidemic period.
Fortune shrink
The downturn of real estate in the employment market has put pressure on the middle class of China's middle class.Bloomberg's economic research estimates that every 5%of house prices fall, housing -related wealth will lose a total of RMB 1.9 trillion (US $ 2.7 trillion)."Residents knew that the decline in house prices had a very negative impact on their wealth, which would of course have a negative impact on their emotions." French foreign trade bank chief Asia -Pacific economist Alicia Garcia Herrero told Bloomberg.
Economic downturn has forced many Chinese families to re -consider their focus on their children's education, including which type of extracurricular training courses and how much investment is acceptable.
"This is a waste of time and waste." Lucy Cheng, who worked in a publishing house in Beijing, said that he started to buy a Yamaha piano for his son from more than 40,000 yuan three years ago and superimposed the class hours of Monday one on Monday.After waiting, her cost has reached about 90,000 yuan, but she did not cultivate children's interest in piano.Last year, the husband who worked in a science and technology giant was reduced in salary. Double -consideration, the abandonment of the piano became a clear choice for Cheng.
Piano teachers also felt this cold wave.Liu Tingting, who taught in a piano shop in Beijing, said that before the epidemic, she had 12 lessons every Saturday, and the number fell to about 4 sessions last year."Parents tend to buy small courses, and some of them will not renew their classes once they finish their class." She said.
In addition to the shrinking of wealth, China's population birth rate has declined for seven consecutive years, which is also an important factor in the decline in piano sales."The people who bought the piano were all the people who had just started to learn. Without the new students, the sales of piano were gone." Lin Jing, a senior piano teacher in Beijing, said that many families have decreased after the epidemic. Considering the piano to buy the piano.The cost of learning the piano is high, and if the child is not the case, it is difficult for learning to study and employment for several years. Some parents who originally considered making their children learn piano simply give up trying.In addition, many young people now do not have children, and there are fewer children, and there are naturally fewer people studying piano.
Due to the cause
There is also a factor that cannot be ignored. China's reform of the additional bonus project of artistic specialty has also caused parents to cool down the enthusiasm of art training.As more and more students can reach level 10 of the piano, China has canceled the sports and art specialty students' additional points in 2015; in 2021, it will be posted again that the college art troupes will no longer be selected from university enrollment since 2024,Select and train from students.Scientific innovation, sports, etc. have become the country's more encouragement direction for primary and secondary school education.
The promotion of traditional culture in recent years has also affected the choice of Chinese parents.Chinese President Xi Jinping has always called on the Chinese to "strengthen cultural self -confidence, build a socialist cultural power", and retain China's "cultural genes".More and more parents have begun to let their children learn traditional musical instruments, such as the 2000 -year -old Chinese traditional musical instrument Guzheng.
Academic stress is another important factor for Rosie to choose to give up piano learning."The child's academic pressure increases, and more time needs to be used in discipline learning," she said. "If one or two interest classes are retained in the end, I will choose a sports project and a child who really loves itself."
Chinese families may be abandoning piano, but their appreciation of this instrument has not completely disappeared.After all, it is one thing to endure your child's piano keys. It is another thing to listen to a piano performance of a master of art.Wang Yujia, a Grammy Award in Beijing, performed in major cities in China last year.
The piano market will be expected to be stabilized after the rapid landslide; the Chinese Musical Instrument Association predicts that the annual annual output of piano will eventually stabilize from 200,000 to 250,000.Some parents were not ready to give up completely.Cheng's son is about to stop learning the piano, but before selling her Yamaha, she still wants her three -year -old daughter to try this instrument.
"See if she likes to play the piano," cheng said, "If I don't like it, I may sell the piano, it is too place."
