Fender is expecting a record year this year as guitar sales have grown 17% during the pandemic and are expected to rise to $700 million, from $600 million last year, CNBC reports. Fender's CEO Andy Mooney attributes the rise in sales to housebound consumers looking for new hobbies. The company also offered Fender Play, the online video platform for learning guitar, bass and ukulele. Introduced in July 2017, it was free for 90 days to the first 100,000 subscribers. Fender hit that mark the very first day, reached a half million sign-ups the first week and settled at about 930,000 subscribers by June. In similar, yet less positive news, Guitar Center, the largest American retailer of musical instruments, has filed for bankruptcy, CNN reports.

The Danish toy company has announced a new Fender Stratocaster construction set based on a fan-submitted piece that won the 2020 LEGO Ideas contest, Brick Fanatics reports. The guitar set will be the first in a new music-centric series of LEGO releases, as the company looks to concentrate on its adult consumers.

When lockdown began in March, Fender launched their free guitar lessons initiative, which they now extended for three more months, Guitar World reports. The Fender Play app giveaway offers lessons for guitar, bass and ukulele using multi-genre, instructor-guided video lessons that can be accessed on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers. Its user base grew almost fivefold in April of this year - increasing from 150,000 to 930,000 subscribers.