Young people prefer attending live concerts to listening to recorded music at home or on the move – in a fresh boost to Britain’s world-leading music industry. New data for the Express’ Strike A Chord campaign has uncovered a significant generational shift in popular music engagement over the past few decades. However, young people’s enthusiasm for live music coincides with school access to music lessons remaining under critical threat, with an ongoing drop in GCSE and A-Level music entries.

The findings show that people aged under 20 are more likely to say they enjoy going to gigs to catch a band (79%) than people aged over 50 (68%). A quarter of these youngsters say they aim to catch a concert at least once a month, while only one in ten of older folk aim to see bands as regularly. The encouraging poll means live music has returned to being the preferred ‘night out’ for many, with 20% saying a live gig was their ideal way to spend an evening with friends, more popular than going out for dinner (18%) and clubbing (9%), comedy nights (3%).

And as cash-strapped as some young people are, 54% of young people said they would spend more than £20 on a concert ticket, while only 24% wouldn’t spend £20 or more on recorded music – whether downloads, vinyl or CDs.

When young people were asked about what brought the magic to live shows, they had experienced, surprise and spontaneity were key factors – 30% said they liked it when surprise special guests appear on stage, such as Ed Sheeran, popping up at Taylor Swift’s Wembley show during her Eras Tour – whilst 21% liked it when artists engaged with the audiences, whether through stories, spontaneous chat or theatrical interactions.

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The study was done in conjunction with one of UK’s most successful international party bands, The London Essentials, who regularly perform for the rich and famous, with fans including Prince Charles and the Beckhams, and involved a representative sample of 2,000 teenagers to gauge their engagement with music today.

Band chief Ben Matthews, said: “Whilst so many people talk about the dangers of social media addition and phone culture amongst young people, there’s a more positive picture in their engagement with live music. Getting out for an evening with friends, supporting young bands – and enjoying those special features of a gig that transform a set list into an immersive and memorable show. It’s what we do at the London Essentials.

“Whilst people in their 50s probably remember going to the record shop to buy the latest record from their favourite artist – or spending hours in their bedroom listening to records and pouring over vinyl sleeve notes – for today’s young generation it’s all about enjoying live music – having a good night out and enjoying the spontaneous magic that only a live show can bring.”

But Ben expressed concern that young people’s engagement with music does not seem to be fully supported in the classroom, with too few pupils getting the chance to learn instruments at school – something the Express is crusading to change.

He added: “So many areas of music are under threat – from the classroom to music college to grassroots venues, yet live music is something the UK is still a world leader at. It’s time for the UK to invest more in the infrastructure behind music, to celebrate its value on society and for us to invest in the “performers” of tomorrow. From the research, it’s clear the audience of tomorrow is already there – that’s the hard bit achieved. We now need to invest in the audience having tomorrow’s artists that can bring their magic to live stages around the UK.”