Did you know that you’re not a serious musician if you’re not dropping loads of money on gear? Because that’s what Guitar Center CEO Gabe Dalporto noted is insinuating.
In a recent interview with Music Inc Magazine, Dalporto noted the company’s “need to evolve and execute better” by apparently getting rid of lower-end gear.
“Somewhere along the way, we forgot who our core customer was,” said Dalporto states. “Our core customer is the serious musician – the gigging artist or passionate player where music is a big part of their identity. Over the years, we’ve evolved significantly into serving the beginner and entry-level customer – which is great – but if you walk through a GC store, you’re going to see an awful lot of $300 guitars.
“We have some premium product, but we don’t have enough, and it’s very hard to experience our premium product because we have our best guitars locked on the top row where you can’t easily get to them. So, if I’m a serious musician and I walk into a Guitar Center, it doesn’t feel like the right place for me anymore.”
Imagine being so out of touch with the music world that you equate expensive gear with being serious. There’s nothing wrong with $300 guitars – if that’s what you can afford, and you’re gonna play the shit out of it and tour – or sit around the house and enjoy playing guitar – then buy a $300 guitar and be a “serious musician.”
Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello took issue with Dalporto’s comment as wel, saying on Twitter: “Rage Against The Machine won our first grammy for ‘Tire Me’, a song on which I played a guitar costing 40 Canadian dollars. Though admittedly I’ve never really considered myself a ‘serious’ musician!”
So yeah. Get out there, buy what you can afford, and take music seriously.
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