More than 8 million Brits aged 18 and over have never been to a gig, while more than 16 million haven’t experienced live music in the past ten years, according to a new study.
Despite more than two thirds of Brits agreeing that live music is better than playing the tracks at home, new research has revealed many struggle to get out to concerts.
Londoners are the biggest live music fans, with one in six attending a gig at least once a month.
But almost one in five people aged 55 and over have never been to a gig before, while people in Yorkshire and the Humber are the least likely to have gone to a gig.
According to the O2 research, many people who have never been to a gig claim the price puts them off, while 23 per cent said they find crowds overwhelming and 15 per cent say they lived too far from a venue.
One in seven Brits even believe they are too old to go to a concert.
But these fears only apply to those who’ve never been to gigs, the research revealed.
Those who go regularly love the experience.
Half cited the atmosphere as one of the best things about seeing live music, while 41 per cent said making memories was one of the key parts of gig-going.
Nina Bibby, CMO at O2, said:
Our research has revealed that many people are missing out on the incredible experience of seeing live music.
But that doesn’t have to be the case.
O2 has 19 O2 Academy venues in 13 cities across the UK and through Priority Tickets, we give our customers access to over 5,000 live shows in more than 350 venues across every year.
The news comes after a recent scientific study showed that regular gig-going is actually good for you.
It can help extend lifespans by nine years, while just 20 minutes of gig time was proven to increase people’s feelings of self-worth, closeness to others, mental stimulation and general feelings of wellbeing.
When it comes to artists that Brits wish they’d seen live, Queen, The Beatles and Abba topped the list.
In the survey, respondents were also asked which genres they listen to in order to make themselves feel happy.
The top ten genres of music people listen to when they want to feel happy:
1. Pop – 41 per cent
2. Rock – 32 per cent
3. Pop Rock – 27 per cent
4. Classical – 20 per cent
5. Dance – 19 per cent
6. Country – 18 per cent
7. Disco – 18 per cent
8. Ballads – 16 per cent
9. Musicals – 15 per cent
10. Indie – 15 per cent
UK cities’ favourite music genre (according to O2 customers)
• Birmingham: Hip Hop
• Bristol: music festivals/rock/hip hop
• Glasgow: Rock/Pop/Hip Hop
• Leicester: Urban
• Leeds: Music festivals/Rock
• Liverpool: Pop
• London: Urban/Dance
• Newcastle: Rock/Pop
• Sheffield: Rock
• Oxford: Dance
• Southampton: Rock/Pop
I’m from Leeds and have to disagree with the latter result. Came into work today and listened to Nothin’ But A G Thang which I did so until about mid-afternoon. Then I got nostalgic for Year 11 for whatever reason and switched to Darwin Deez.
Still listening to Deez but plan on moving onto This Girl by Kungs vs Cookin’ on 3 Burners in around 10 minutes. But what do I know?
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