Fender. Past the sore fingers.
Fender sells the most iconic guitars in the world, and most end up under the bed. Within a year, 90% of buyers have given up. So Fender decided to teach you.
THE GIST ON FENDER: "Don't Fret"
Why do guitars end up under the bed?
Fender makes the most iconic guitars in the world and most of them end up under the bed, because selling the dream is easy. Learning to play is a nightmare.
Fender has made guitars for 80 years: the Telecaster, the Stratocaster, instruments behind some of the best music ever made, and it's extraordinary at selling the dream. But the dream and the reality are very different. Six weeks of sore fingers, a C chord you can't make work, and the slow realisation that BB King had a gift from God and you do not. Within a year, 90% of people have given up.
What did Fender work out?
You can only sell so many first guitars. At some point someone at Fender realised the whole business model depended on people not giving up. If you can get someone past the first three months of sore fingers and frustration to the point where they can play something, they almost never stop.
So in 2017 it launched Fender Play, a subscription app to teach you not to quit through those first three months.
Why is that genius?
Most companies sell you something and walk away. Fender realised that if it taught you to play, you'd never leave. It makes itself the centre of your guitar life, and you come back for everything: amps, pedals, a second guitar, maybe even a ukulele.
Does it apply elsewhere?
This gap exists in every industry that sells a dream. Gyms sell you fitness but don't get you ripped. Language apps teach you Italian but can't make you learn. The dream gets you through the door and reality pushes you back out.
If you close the gap and take responsibility for the part between what someone buys and what they want to become, you create devotion. For a business, that is music to its ears.
Did you ever give up on an instrument?
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Quick answers
How many people give up guitar?
Huw says 90% within a year.
What is Fender Play?
A subscription app launched in 2017 to teach beginners through their first three months.
Why does Fender want you to keep playing?
Players who get past three months almost never stop, and they come back for amps, pedals and more guitars.
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