Synthesizer equipment sales in the United States show a market with strong long-run expansion but a softer recent value trend. U.S. keyboard synthesizer retail sales rose from $124 million in 2015 to $159 million in 2019, reached $167 million in 2021, and stood at $128.8 million in 2024. The latest year also combined higher keyboard-synthesizer unit volume with lower estimated retail value, making price and product mix important to interpreting the market.
Table of contents
- U.S. keyboard synthesizer sales from 2015 to 2019
- The 2020–2024 sales cycle
- 2024 units, value, and average price
- Modular synthesizers and the wider electronic market
- Neighboring electronic equipment categories
- Roland creation-related sales
- Long-run analog and electronic indicators
U.S. keyboard synthesizer sales from 2015 to 2019
The 2024 NAMM Global Report records a steady climb in U.S. keyboard synthesizer retail sales during the five years from 2015 through 2019. The reported annual values were $124 million in 2015, $135 million in 2016, $143 million in 2017, $151 million in 2018, and $159 million in 2019.
That sequence gives a useful baseline for the category before the later disruption and rebound. Each reported year was above the preceding year. The market therefore entered 2020 after four consecutive year-to-year increases in retail value, with 2019 at $159 million according to NAMM.
| Year | U.S. keyboard synthesizer retail sales |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $124 million |
| 2016 | $135 million |
| 2017 | $143 million |
| 2018 | $151 million |
| 2019 | $159 million |
These are U.S. retail-sales estimates reported by NAMM, not worldwide manufacturer revenue and not unit shipments. That distinction matters because retail value can change when the number of products sold, product prices, or the mix of entry-level and premium instruments changes.
The 2020–2024 sales cycle
The same 2024 NAMM Global Report reports U.S. keyboard synthesizer retail sales of $130 million in 2020. The figure was below the 2019 value of $159 million. Sales then rose to $167 million in 2021, before easing to $147 million in 2022 and $137 million in 2023.
The 2025 NAMM Global Report reports $128.8 million for 2024. The two report editions identify the 2024 value consistently, while the newer report also supplies the unit and pricing context for that year.
| Year | U.S. keyboard synthesizer retail sales |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $130 million |
| 2021 | $167 million |
| 2022 | $147 million |
| 2023 | $137 million |
| 2024 | $128.8 million |
The series is therefore not a simple uninterrupted growth line. It includes a 2021 high of $167 million followed by three lower reported retail values. The 2024 figure was accompanied by a 6.1% decrease in estimated retail value, while unit volume moved in the opposite direction. In practical terms, the category’s recent value performance cannot be read as a direct proxy for demand without considering units and average selling price.
2024 units, value, and average price
According to the 2025 NAMM Global Report, U.S. keyboard synthesizer unit volume increased 14.3% to 112,000 units in 2024. At the same time, estimated retail value decreased 6.1% to $128.8 million. NAMM reported a 2024 average selling price of $1,150.
Those three measures describe different parts of the same market: 112,000 keyboard synthesizer units, $128.8 million in estimated retail value, and a $1,150 average selling price. The unit increase and value decrease occurred in the same U.S. measurement year. The reported average selling price is a category statistic, so it should not be treated as the price of every synthesizer or as a quoted price for a specific model.
For readers comparing sales statistics, the 2024 results are especially important because they prevent a value-only interpretation. A lower dollar total does not, by itself, establish lower unit demand. In this dataset, NAMM reports higher unit volume alongside lower estimated retail value and a $1,150 average selling price.
Modular synthesizers and the wider electronic market
The modular segment provides a separate view of synthesizer equipment. The 2025 NAMM Global Report reports 73,200 U.S. modular synthesizer shipments in 2024 and $40.3 million in estimated retail value. These modular figures are distinct from the 112,000 keyboard synthesizer units and $128.8 million keyboard-synthesizer value reported for the same year.
NAMM defines the U.S. electronic music market more broadly. Its definition includes keyboard synthesizers, controller keyboards, electronic pianos, rhythm machines, and electronic drums. For 2024, the category had an estimated retail value of $325.1 million, declined 4.1% during the year, and recorded a 36.5% 10-year growth rate through 2024.
| 2024 U.S. category | Reported measurement |
|---|---|
| Keyboard synthesizers | 112,000 units; $128.8 million value |
| Modular synthesizers | 73,200 shipments; $40.3 million value |
| Electronic music market | $325.1 million value |
| Keyboard controllers | 101,000 units; $18.2 million value |
The controller comparison is also supplied by NAMM: U.S. keyboard-controller shipments declined 17.2% to 101,000 units in 2024, while estimated retail value was $18.2 million. Because NAMM’s broad electronic-music definition includes several product types, its $325.1 million total should not be substituted for keyboard-synthesizer sales.
Neighboring electronic equipment categories
The 2024 electronic music market becomes easier to interpret when related categories are kept separate. NAMM reports U.S. electronic-player-piano shipments of 8,300 units and estimated retail value of $20.8 million in 2024. The report also states that professional-piano-and-organ unit volume declined 5.7% to 8,300 units; that statistic is a separate category description and should not be merged with keyboard-synthesizer units.
Electronic percussion had an estimated U.S. retail value of $99.0 million in 2024, up 2.1%, according to the 2025 NAMM Global Report. Portable-keyboard retail sales were $133.55 million in 2023 and $116.95 million in 2024. Rhythm-machine retail sales were $17.77 million in 2023 and $18.13 million in 2024.
NAMM also reports $137.93 million in U.S. other-electronic-product retail sales in 2023 and $141.30 million in 2024. These adjacent figures show why a market-size comparison should identify the product definition first: portable keyboards, rhythm machines, other electronic products, electronic percussion, and keyboard synthesizers are reported as different measurements.
Roland creation-related sales
Roland’s creation-related products and services segment is a company-reported indicator that includes synthesizer-related activity but is not a standalone synthesizer-sales series. Roland reported ¥8,010 million in segment sales for FY2020, representing 12.5% of FY2020 sales, in its FY12/2020 Financial Results Presentation.
In FY2021, the segment recorded ¥10,122 million and represented 12.6% of sales, according to FY12/2021 Financial Results. Roland reported ¥12,206 million in FY2022, representing 12.7% of sales, and described the segment as growing 21.9% year over year in FY12/2022 Financial Results.
| Roland fiscal year | Creation-related segment sales | Reported growth or share |
|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | ¥8,010 million | 12.5% of sales |
| FY2021 | ¥10,122 million | 12.6% of sales |
| FY2022 | ¥12,206 million | 21.9% year-over-year growth |
| FY2023 | ¥12,662 million | 3.7% year-over-year growth |
| FY2024 | ¥12,627 million | 0.3% year-over-year decline |
| FY2025 | ¥13,060 million | 3.4% year-over-year growth |
Roland reported ¥12,662 million in FY2023 and 3.7% year-over-year growth in FY12/2023 Financial Results. FY2024 sales were ¥12,627 million, a 0.3% year-over-year decline; excluding exchange-rate effects, Roland reported a 6.0% decline. The FY12/2024 Financial Results gives those measures.
For FY2025, Roland reported ¥13,060 million and 3.4% year-over-year growth in FY12/2025 Financial Results. These fiscal-year figures are in Japanese yen and cover a company segment, so they should not be combined arithmetically with U.S. retail estimates in dollars.
Long-run analog and electronic indicators
Earlier NAMM reporting supplies longer-horizon context. In the U.S. market reported by NAMM, analog synthesizer total retail sales grew 19.9% over the five years to 2015. NAMM also reported that its U.S. electronic music products category posted 9.9% retail growth in 2015 and had $238.3 million in retail value that year.
The same NAMM report recorded more than $155 million in U.S. electronic music products retail sales through the third quarter of 2016. It separately reported that U.S. digital-piano retail sales were up 24.38% over the 10 years to 2015, while U.S. digital-piano unit sales were up 13.1% over the same 2005–2015 period.
These historical indicators use their stated periods and category definitions. They provide context for the later keyboard-synthesizer series, but they do not replace the 2015–2024 keyboard-synthesizer retail values or establish a forecast for future sales.