The State of the UK Music Retail Economy in 2025: Consolidation, Counterfeits, and Communities
Over the last 18 months, UK musical-instrument retail has been hit by a perfect storm: rising operating costs and weaker footfall on the high street, aggressive online competition, and a surge of counterfeit goods siphoning money out of the legitimate economy. The result has been rapid consolidation among national retailers, closures on local high streets, and a heavier reliance on independent, community-focused shops to keep the everyday music ecosystem alive. retailresearch.org+2BRC+2
What’s changed on the high street?
Multiple data series point the same way: store closures remain elevated and footfall is soft. The Centre for Retail Research projects another year of very high closures in 2025, continuing the post-pandemic attrition of physical retail; the House of Commons Library’s July 2025 briefing attributes much of the churn to small independents (1–5 stores) exiting town centres. The British Retail Consortium’s monthly monitors also show non-food prices still under pressure and footfall down year-on-year into the summer. Yahoo Finance+4Credit Connect+4Research Briefings+4
Consolidation in instrument retail: PMT & GAK
Two of the UK’s best-known chains, GAK (Brighton) and PMT (Play Music Today), ceased trading in spring and early summer 2025. Their stock, websites, trademarks and certain data were acquired out of insolvency by listed online retailer Gear4music (G4M). Gear4music was explicit that it did not acquire the PMT trading company (or its liabilities) and has no plans to use the PMT trading name. Public filings and industry press note G4M’s subsequent trading momentum amid a “more favourable competitive landscape.” Investegate+4Guitar.com+4MusicRadar+4
For context (not opinion), here are the key, on-record facts:
GAK: Asset sale to Gear4music announced 22 April 2025 (stock and certain intangibles including websites and trademarks). Guitar.comPMT: Entered administration on 11 June 2025; Gear4music acquired selected assets (including stock and digital assets) from the administrators. Guitar.com+2www.gear4music.com+2Gear4music trading updates (June–September 2025) reference revenue growth, improved margins, and market share capture after competitors failed. Q4 Capital+2Investegate+2
These events don’t prove any single actor “caused” the market stress; they illustrate a wider pattern of consolidation when costs are high and price competition is intense.
The price race: when “busy” isn’t “sustainable”
UK retail has faced rising input costs (energy, wages, business rates and NICs) while customers have been highly price-sensitive. In non-food categories like instruments, the temptation is to compete almost entirely on ticket price. But the BRC’s reporting through 2025 shows retailers absorbing costs and then facing renewed price inflation, while footfall data trend negative—conditions that make low-margin, high-overhead chains vulnerable. In that environment, growth-at-all-costs or permanent discounting can turn stores into “busy fools”—high volume, thin or negative profit—until a balance sheet shock hits. BRC+2BRC+2
Counterfeits: the silent drain on legitimate music retail
A parallel problem is counterfeit gear—everything from strings and cables to pedals and branded accessories—sold via global marketplaces. The latest OECD–EUIPO work puts hard numbers on the macro impact:
Global: The 2025 Mapping Global Trade in Fakes update (based on 2021 seizures) shows counterfeits remain a significant share of world trade; China is consistently the leading provenance for counterfeit shipments to the EU, followed by Turkey and Hong Kong. OECD+2OECD+2
UK-specific impacts: The OECD’s UK report estimates that counterfeit imports into the UK resulted in over 24,000 retail & wholesale job losses (2021). That’s not music-specific, but it quantifies the real-economy damage to legitimate sellers, including specialist retailers. OECD
Even when buyers know they’re taking a punt on a “cheap” set of strings, the cumulative effect is to divert revenue from authorised channels—undercutting warranties, safety standards and after-sales support, and weakening the domestic tax base that funds local services. OECD
Why independents matter: the local music ecosystem
While national chains consolidate, the UK’s music ecosystem still depends on hundreds of independent shops and grassroots venues. UK Music’s recent Hometown Glory report and the Music Venue Trust’s 2024 Annual Report both emphasise that local music infrastructure—shops, rehearsal rooms, repair benches, venues—drives footfall, hospitality spend and cultural identity in towns and cities. These places aren’t just points of sale; they are hubs of expertise, mentorship, and community. ia600904.us.archive.org+1
What would help?
Better marketplace enforcement on counterfeits: The OECD–EUIPO data should be a springboard for tougher platform accountability and faster takedowns—especially for safety-critical electrical items and instrument accessories. OECD+1
Level the cost base for bricks-and-mortar: Addressing business rates and employer burdens in line with BRC analysis would reduce the structural disadvantage physical retailers face versus pure-play e-commerce. BRC+1
Support the local ecosystem: Following UK Music/MVT evidence, councils and BIDs can treat music retail as part of placemaking—linking venues, festivals, education and retailers to boost high-street vitality. ia600904.us.archive.org+1
About Foulds Guitars (and shops like us)
Independent specialist shops serve as meeting places and knowledge centres. Customers can A/B test guitars and amps, get honest setup advice, book repairs, and tap into staff who play, gig and teach. We help new players start well, keep working musicians onstage with fast fixes, and connect the scene by pointing people to local gigs, teachers and venues. In short: we’re part of the community as much as the supply chain—and that’s worth protecting, especially now.
Sources & further reading
Centre for Retail Research, The Crisis in Retailing: Closures and Job Losses; Credit-Connect summary of 2025 forecasts. retailresearch.org+1
House of Commons Library, Retail sector in the UK (25 Jul 2025). Research Briefings
British Retail Consortium, Shop Price Monitor/updates and footfall (“Too hot to shop”). BRC+3BRC+3BRC+3
PMT administration and asset sales: Guitar.com (industry report); Gear4music RNS/press materials; MusicRadar (GAK). MusicRadar+4Guitar.com+4Q4 Capital+4
Gear4music trading context: RNS / LSE announcements; Shares/Sharecast coverage. Sharecast+3London South East+3London Stock Exchange+3
OECD–EUIPO: Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025 (global) and Trade in Counterfeit Goods and the UK Economy (UK). OECD+2OECD+2
UK Music, Hometown Glory (2025); Music Venue Trust, Annual Report 2024. ia600904.us.archive.org+1