• Queen performances and Live Aid are Britain’s favourite music moments
• A third of 16-24-year-olds listen to music on their mobile
• Country and folk music’s popularity rises when a relationship ends
Queen in concert, Live Aid, the first dance at a wedding and even Brotherhood of Man winning the Eurovision song contest all have something in common, while country and folk music become more popular with people when they are splitting up.
A survey of over one thousand one hundred people, released today to support Vodafone UK’s wide mobile music offering, has found that the British public has an eclectic mix of favourite music moments, while their mood or activity impacts the music they listen to.
Queen performances and Live Aid are easily the country’s most memorable musical events, but other artists like Oasis, Nirvana, Robbie Williams and Jimi Hendrix also polled highly.
“We know our customers are passionate about music and we give them a choice of how they can get it on a fantastic range of handsets,” says Tim Yates, Chief Marketing Officer of Vodafone UK. “We have MusicStation that really allows our customers to experiment with and discover music, with unlimited downloads for just £1.99 a week as well as the more traditional 700,000 full track music downloads which can cost as little as 50p each to own, with our Full Track Pack 15 for a £7.50 monthly subscription.”
We’re also a nation of romantics with people loving the music at their wedding while others prefer singing nursery rhymes to their children or hearing their offspring play at school concerts.
"Music is a big part of my life. The first gig I went to was Blondie when I was 16 in September 1978. Nothing had prepared me for the atmosphere and energy at a packed out live gig at Hammersmith Palais. That feeling of excitement has stayed with me ever since and I can say it ignited my passion for music," says Phill Jupitus, Never Mind the Buzzcocks star.
The survey comes at a time when listening to music on mobiles is becoming more popular and Vodafone customers have a wide range of ways in which they can acquire music. Earlier this month, Vodafone UK introduced the MusicStation rental service that allows customers unlimited access to over 1.3 million tracks whenever and wherever they are as well as exclusive handsets suited to music, including the Nokia N95 8GB and the Havana Gold Sony Ericsson W910i. Elsewhere customers buying one of a range of Pay as you talk handsets this Christmas will get 15 tracks from the Vodafone Music Store for free.
Vodafone UK’s survey also revealed that nearly 13% of people access music via their phones, a number that rockets to over 33% amongst 16-24 year olds, with people from Yorkshire, London, the South East and Northern Ireland being the most likely to listen to music this way.
The research also showed that that pop, rock and R&B/soul are the most popular genres for people getting ready for a hot date, with country/folk and hip hop/rap the least, polling only five and four percent of the votes respectively. Splitting up, however, would appear to significantly increase the popularity of country/folk music with over 10% choosing the genre when a relationship comes to an end.
Elsewhere, Vodafone’s survey showed that classical music is the preferred option for people who are working or studying or preparing for a job interview while chart music is top for shopping and traveling.
The survey of 1119 people, carried out by Tickbox.net between November 9 and November 11 2007 also looked at the amount of time people spend listening to music, whether they share music and what drives them to try new music.
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For further information, including detailed national and regional statistics please call:
Julien Cozens or Jakub Hrabovsky
Vodafone Group Media Relations
Te: 01635 664444
For further information please contact:
Vodafone Group Media Relations on 01635 66 44 44 or mail: groupmediarelations@vodafone.com
About Vodafone UK
Vodafone UK has 17.4 million customers and is part of the world's leading international mobile telecommunications Group, offering a wide range of voice and data communications. The company is committed to providing mobile solutions that allow both consumer and business customers to make the most of now. In addition, Vodafone connects customers across the globe with roaming agreements worldwide. It provides 3G roaming in 29 countries and offers great roaming value with Vodafone Passport. On June 6 2007 Vodafone launched Vodafone Internet On Your Mobile which was rated number 1 mobile internet service in the UK in a review by Mobile magazine*. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.co.uk.