An island of music lovers: why 85% of British people believe music is essential to mental health

People across the world and across the UK are very much still in recovery from the last two to three years of the pandemic. Reports on a ‘post-Covid mental health crisis’ are now more regular than news about Covid itself. Throughout this time people have taken up and turned to many different interventions and hobbies to boost their mental health. Hiking and walks in nature have seen a huge uptake, but a survey from FREE NOW suggests that Brits also frequently turn to music.

Written by Bryony Porteous-Sebouhian

An important role in maintaining positive mental health

A report by Far Out on new research from the app FREE NOW presents a country that centres music across many aspects of life.

It is no secret that British people love music, with some of the largest and most world-renowned festivals in the world (Glastonbury, Leeds and Reading), as well as so many others its almost hard to be sure just how many music festivals take place in the UK every year. The latest analysis from The Association of Festival Organisers estimated that there are somewhere between 800 and 1000 music festivals in the UK during a typical year.

But this love for music doesn’t only apply to when Brits are at a festival. The research from the FREE NOW survey has found that 85% of respondents say that music has been key to sustaining their positive mental health.

The survey also found:

• 31% of respondents met their partners through their shared connection to music
• 83% said they had been moved to tears by music before
• Two thirds of respondents said their local music venues are vital to the culture of their hometown

General Manager of FREE Now, Mariusz Zabrocki has said:

“The importance of music was never in doubt but it’s great to see confirmation of just how vital it is to people’s daily lives…We know more than most that live music has had an incredibly rough few years with the pandemic and incoming cost of living crisis. We are proud to play a part in supporting the music business both via our partnership with the Mercury Prize 2022, celebrating some of the best new music in the UK and helping ensure the long-lasting survival of UK music venue.”

Should public health commissioners, local authorities and clinical practices be taking music seriously?

As we discussed in our article on collective effervescence, musical experiences such as concerts and festivals can be a fantastic way to boost community wellbeing and mental health.

Similarly, in March of this year we also published an article on research that suggested music might actually be as therapeutically beneficial as exercise in addressing common mental health conditions such as anxiety, stress, low mood and depression.

With various methods and approaches to social prescribing becoming more available and accessible there is no reason not to look into how music could be incorporated into these approaches to wellbeing.

As the evidence mounts, from discussions about collective effervescence and music in therapeutic practice, to how it is utilised in our daily lives, professionals working within the mental health sector would be ignorant not to consider its beneficial attributes.