29.07.2025: Music can play a key part in growing local economies and improving people’s wellbeing, polling commissioned by UK Music has found.

To coincide with the publication of our Hometown Glory report in 2025, UK Music commissioned Whitestone Insight to survey more than 2,000 people to find out how people felt about music in their neighbourhoods. The findings showed how people value music, as well as where better support from MPs, Mayors and local council would encourage greater participation.

Everyone knows music is an essential part of the human experience. It can make us feel joy, bring communities together, and aid social cohesion at a time where many of us are experiencing difficulties:

• The most common emotional impacts are feeling joy as part of the audience (38%) and being emotionally moved by the experience (28%).
• 42% of those questioned say it was important to them to have access to music events within reasonable distance of where they live. The figure is equivalent to more than 22m adults.

When a community enjoys a vibrant local music scene are significantly more inclined to spend their evenings out, injecting vital revenue into high streets at a time when many town centres are striving to recover footfall and economic activity:

• Four in ten UK adults are more likely go out in the evening if there are live music events in the area.

• Half of UK adults say they are more likely to spend money in a venue that has high quality local music.

People recognise that music isn’t just entertainment but a powerful catalyst for urban renewal, and they believe local leaders must step up to harness its potential:

• Six in ten (59%) feel that ‘Local music should be better supported by the council’.

• 62% agree ‘Music, nightlife, and music spaces (e.g. recording studios) should be part of how we bring life back to the high street’.

But despite music’s broad appeal, significant barriers still prevent people from attending live events. These structural challenges underline the need for targeted local interventions to make live music more accessible to everyone:

• The biggest barriers to attending live music are the cost of living (36%) and a lack of decent local venues (22%).
• 50% of all adults saying that ‘I’d be more likely to go to music events if public transport matched event times better’, including 38% of over-75s.

This is why UK Music is urging local councils and community leaders to back the industry. Our Local Music Action Charter encourages councils to take simple first steps, such as by transforming empty or underused buildings into vibrant music and cultural venues or supporting our campaigns around things like Agent of Change:

• 60% of UK adults agree that ‘Empty or underused spaces in my town should be opened up for music and cultural use’.

• Seven in ten (69%) agree that ‘If new homes are built near a music venue, it should be the responsibility of the builder to make sure noise isn’t a problem, not the venue’s job to change or close’.

By embracing these measures, local leaders can uncover music’s full potential as a driver of economic resilience and social wellbeing. As the Hometown Glory report demonstrates, every ticket sold, and every note played contributes to jobs, pride and prosperity; now is the moment for councils, Mayors and MPs to turn public support into lasting change and ensure that music continues to thrive in every region, town, city and neighbourhood.

On behalf of UK Music, Whitestone Insight surveyed 2112 UK adults aged 18+ from 6 to 8 June 2025. Data were weighted to be representative of all adults.  Whitestone Insight is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. The full polling findings can be found here.

The polling supported the findings of UK Music’s Hometown Glory report published on July 1 which found that music tourists spent a record £10 billion in 2024 – a 26% increase on the 2023 total spend of £8 billion. You can read the full report here.

UK Music published the research to show the value of concerts and festivals to the economy in each of the UK’s nations and regions and outlined in its report the vital importance of helping the music industry continue to grow everywhere.

The Hometown Glory report builds on UK Music’s work looking at regional economic trends and provides new insights and strategies to grow music scenes and industries at a local level across the country.

The report outlines how music has the power to regenerate places, support skilled employment, and promote the UK’s global cultural leadership. It argues that supporting local music can be a key tool in strengthening communities and driving local and national pride, while simultaneously providing the support the music industry needs to thrive.