Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

The funniest thing I hear back when I’m talking to people about Guitar Hero or Rock Band is “So after playing the game are you actually able to play the guitar?” Good question, but the answer is unfortunately no. Something which the makers of South Park gleefully exploit in a recent episode.

The interesting thing though is this new market of casual consumers who have picked up the plastic guitar have opened up a new opportunity for guitar companies. Wired reports:

Of the top 20 podcasts offered by iTunes, six are iVideosongs tutorials. The second most popular podcast on iTunes is iVideosongs’ “Beginning Guitar 101.” The wave of interest in guitar tutorials comes amid renewed interest in the instrument, spurred at least in part by wildly popular games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. IVideosongs’ chart success comes only a few weeks after the company released its first tutorial through iTunes, on April 2.

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Budding guitarists can purchase iVideosongs lessons individually for $5 or $10, depending on whether the song is being taught by the artist who wrote it or not, with certain titles available for free download within iTunes. Purchased tutorials are in HD quality, but can also be transferred onto iPods and iPhones for portable tutelage.

This is a trend which has also been recognised by one of my clients, Canon, who point out that the huge surge of cameraphones has actually led to an increase in the purchase of digital cameras, rather than eating into the market. What we’re seeing is that casual consumers are rediscovering their passion for certain hobbies. Once hooked they are potentially in the market to ‘trade up’, whether it’s switching from a digital compact camera to an SLR or swapping the plastic guitar for a Gibson.