A comprehensive review of children and young people's relationship with music
What is the Sound of the Next Generation report?
The Sound of the Next Generation is a new research report by Youth Music and Ipsos MORI. It offers ground-breaking insights into the diverse ways young people engage with and value music and music-making, bringing to light the positive and meaningful impact music has for them.
Youth Music worked with Ipsos MORI to conduct online surveys with a representative sample of 1,001 young people aged 7 to 17 across England, as well as in-depth interviews with participants involved in Youth Music projects.
This was followed up with a series of in-depth expert interviews with industry leaders, psychologists and academics to understand the context of our findings and the wider impact of music on society.
Read the full report and join in the conversation online: #SoundoftheNextGen
The Sound of the Next Gen trailer
"Music is pretty much everything."
Read Young Musician's stories
Discovering a career in music - Chi's story
Chi, 21, is a beatmaker and music producer from Oxford. The Beat Route project, run by the Ark T Centre, has helped him learn new skills and work out a direction for his future.
Expressing themselves through songwriting - Shelby, Phoebe, Kylie and Shona's story
Shelby, Phoebe, Kylie and Shona aged between 12 and 14, are all carers for siblings or parents who have additional needs or long-term health problems. As part of the project, they co-wrote a powerful song about their experiences.
10 year journey to becoming a music leader - Kallum's story
Kallum, 24, is a rapper from Cambridge who’s been taking part in music-making projects run by local youth charity Romsey Mill since he was 14.
Bringing music to the wards - Fabrice's story
Fabrice, 18, experienced some serious mental health problems which led to him spending several months in hospital last year. Making music with the Singing for Health project gave him some of his happiest memories from a difficult time.
"I feel happy that I’ve got somewhere" - Filip's story
Filip, 14, is a jazz drummer who takes part in the East by North East project run by GemArts in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Bonding with my daughter and finding friends through music - Hannah's story
Hannah, 19, is a mum to 11-month-old Lilly. A Youth Music project has helped her bond with her daughter and find a supportive group of friends.
Experimenting with music - Leah's story
18-year-old Leah is a rapper living in Corby who took part in CONCEPT, a project run by Pedestrian in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.
"Rap is me" - Taz's story
Taz is a 17-year-old rapper from Cambridge. Over the last three years she’s taken part in a number of music-making projects run by local youth charity Romsey Mill.