Here's a long article on why so many pianos are being dumped these days and current trends in piano ownership:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19706812

I was personally tickled to see that an article appearing in the BBC news quoted a Louisville piano dealer extensively.

Nice article, Monica. Thanks for posting.

Blake Cooper of Cooper Pianos in Atlanta was also quoted in the article. I've met Blake and he is a nice fellow.

I have a few parts, bits and pieces from an old upright that I discarded. I was planning on restoring it, but it was just too much work and would have been too time consuming.

Old pianos can sound great, even nearly warn out, and they are very stylish, I suppose.

I haven't ruled out acquiring another old clunker to tinker with.

Rick

We get a couple of calls every day from people wanting to donate their pianos.

The pianos made during the surge in production from 1890-1929 are at the end of their life expectency.

Unfortunately there is no "die with dignity" scenario for all but a few of them.

Great article...thanks Monica.

Didn't a reporter from New York, just a few months ago, write an article and video on this same subject???

Yes, and there is a trend in the media to copy each other. After that article you mention, old-piano stories turned up in other papers and I even saw a bit on the NBC Nightly (TV) news.

The BBC article Monica mentioned is better than most.

On a not so bright note here, few months ago, there was also a story in the Australian news on one company of piano movers locally that end up also having to- no other better term here- destroy the pianos that are usable no more, and why they the pianos have to be dumped or otherwise put down.