A survey carried out by UK Music has found that 57 percent of people believe music helped them through the various COVID-19 lockdowns that have happened over the past 16 months.
The survey is the largest of its kind since the start of the pandemic, and also revealed that 42 percent of respondents listened to more music during the lockdowns than they previously did. Just 14 percent of those polled disagreed with the poll’s questioning around whether music had helped them during lockdown.
Other lines of questioning from the survey revealed that around one million adults say they took up a musical instrument during lockdown; 74 percent say music is important to their quality of life (with 39 percent saying that importance has increased during the past year); and 59 percent say music aided their health and wellbeing during lockdowns (against 11 percent who disagreed).
The survey also focused on the return of live music to the UK, with two-thirds of respondents saying they planned to attend as many or even more gigs than before COVID-19 shut venues. Among 18 to 24-year-olds who responded, 38 percent said going to a music festival or gig is one of the things they are most looking forward to when they are able to.
Polling organisation Public First carried out the survey on behalf of UK Music, with the latter hoping to find out more about how important music was to people’s experiences of the pandemic.
UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said: "These results demonstrate just how important music is to our nation and the critical role it has played over the course of this pandemic. Music has been vital not only in helping the public cope with the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns and improving mental health and wellbeing, but also in making people more productive while they work.
"Combined with the huge economic contribution the music industry made pre-COVID-19, this is further evidence that the UK music industry is a key national asset that should be protected and supported by government. With the right support, music can continue to play a vital role in improving people’s health and wellbeing in the months ahead as we look to recover from this pandemic."
Find the full outline of the survey’s results here.
