Young people are feeling less musical, finds Youth Music survey

A new survey by Youth Music has found that the proportion of young people who think of themselves as musical now sits at 55%, a drop of 9% since 2018. Parental confidence in school music education is also very low, with just 11% of parents of under fives believing their children will get enough of a musical education in school. That tallies with the Sound of the Next Generation report’s findings that access to music – particularly in schools – has decreased and comes in the wake of The State of the Arts report which found arts education faces a structural funding crisis.

However, the headlines of the Sound of the Next Generation report, which surveyed 2,100 children and young people to delve into their attitudes towards, participation in and consumption of music, are not all negative. Music tops the list of activities that Gen Z and Gen Alpha do in their spare time, making it even more important to them than sport, social media and other social, cultural and creative activities. 83% of young people had listened to music in the past week when they were surveyed in March 2024, while 71% said music is a big part of who they are.

Young people’s relationship with music has changed since the last time the music charity Youth Music ran this survey, published in 2019 before the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. ‘Listening to music is becoming more bite-sized and fleeting,’ says the report. ‘Music is evoking fewer emotions and becoming a more isolated activity.’ Under a quarter of children and young people now play an instrument, and the ways in which they are learning has also changed. Individual lessons have declined and now only 19% of children learn in that way, compared with 33% in 2018. Group lessons in school are now more common, as is being taught by friends and family, but actually playing instruments in groups has declined from 48% to 39%.

Access and cost were found to be the biggest barriers to making music for 6-17 year-olds, while time and ability came out top for 18-25 year-olds. Across the UK, access and attitudes vary. One notable finding is that in Wales, often described as the ‘land of song’, the majority of young people don’t feel musical (only 46% said they did, compared to 57% for England, 58% for Scotland and 68% for Northern Ireland). Wales is currently facing multiple funding challenges in its arts industry, including the closure of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s junior department.

‘As the opportunity to access music both in and out of school is squeezed, we urgently need investment in our national music infrastructure that includes grassroots provision, an inclusive curriculum and a focus on work-based skills to ensure that the next generation can thrive and grow,’ says Youth Music co-chair Charlotte Edgeworth. Her fellow co-chair Guvna B added: ‘This report shows that life is tough for young people, but music is a powerful tool. In a world where listening to music tops the list of activities that young people today turn to, it is vital that it’s available to everyone – not just the listening part, but making it and learning about it too.’