Instrument sales in perspective: school music sales show a stability few other industries can...

To listen to some talk, the school music business has wild fluctuations. Ignited by a saxophone boom one year, buffeted by a crisis in school music programs the next. In actuality, the numbers tell quite a different story, showing a remarkably stable industry. Over the past four years, the annual variance in unit shipments has never exceeded 7%. In contrast with other industries, like the auto business which has experienced a 29% drop in unit sales in the past year, and the housing industry, which has seen a 47% drop in new construction, the school music business hasn't really mov