Seeking Community - a 2025 qualitative at scale research study from the BPI

BLACKSTAR present bpi seeking community gen z's true relationship with culture & music consumption powered by tellet

Seeking Community: Gen Z's True Relationship with Culture & Music Consumption 2025 tamentank bpi

PROMOTING BRITISH MUSIC

In April 2025 we spoke to 500 people aged 18-25 from all across the UK about their music consumption and discovery.

BPI represents the UK's recorded music industry, and works to promote and protect British music at home and overseas.

"We're delighted to be able to share this new research on Gen Z - how they discover music, consume music, and what does and doesn't resonate with them. This insight, in their own words, is a first of its kind study for the UK music industry powered by qual at scale platform provider Tellet, working with lemontank & Blackstar. This study should be a great resource for anyone looking to learn how fans in this age group interact with music, what it means. to them, and what they respond to. We hope you find it useful!"

Leon Neville, Director of Insight & Innovation lemontank lemontank is a Gen Z writers' room delivering world-class marketing strategies, insights and content ideas for artists and labels. Our diverse global pool of 18-25 year old creatives work with the likes of Universal, Warner, Sony and BMG to help artist campaigns reach young audiences authentically.

"Gen Z don't just listen to music - they seek to connect with it. This research lays out how, why and when they seek connection, and how artists and their teams can be offering those real connections. The core of lemontank's mission is to make sure that the opinions and creative ideas of young people are properly valued in the process of trying to reach them with marketing and content, so this project has been an amazing way to do that on a huge scale."

Jacob Rickard, Founder & Director

BLACKSTAR®

Blackstar is a music marketing agency building bold, culture-shaping campaigns. With teams across the UK, US, and Canada, we help artists cut through the noise with tailored strategy, audience insight, and standout creative turning ideas into impactful moments.

"This report offers an unfiltered look into how 18-25 year olds engage with music today. Rather than industry assumptions, we have real first-hand observations from a demographic whose voices we don't hear a lot from. There isn't a reliance on metrics here instead this report captures real experiences, emotional nuance, and cultural shifts often missed by traditional data. Gen Z isn't a monolith, and these insights can help shape more inclusive strategies, sustainable fan growth, and future-facing industry practices."

Breyner Baptista, Innovation & Culture Director

Seeking Community: Gen Z's True Relationship with Culture & Music Consumption 2025 our findings listening discovering connecting about the panel:

• methodology & respondents
• Amontank
• BLACKSTAR bpl

Seeking Community: Gen Z's True Relationship with Culture & Music Consumption 2025 listening music is indispensable

It's part of Gen Z's daily lives; an essential factor in emotional, social, and individual realms. Music is ubiquitous.

Music is their constant soundtrack It enhances their mood It is tied to their identity It builds their community

Amontank bpl

BLACKSTAR

Seeking Community: Gen Z's True Relationship with Culture & Music Consumption ⚫ 2025 lemontank music is indispensable

BLACKSTAR the 4 pillars of music

"I play music every day, whether it's when I'm showering, washing the dishes or taking time to relax or be present. I couldn't live without it!"

"Music plays a very important role in my daily life because it helps me relieve myself from the stress of the day..."

listening

Music is the background soundtrack of everything Gen Z does it accompanies all their tasks, commutes and activities.

"Music soundtracks my day from when I wake up to probably the point I go to sleep."

"I really enjoy listening to music. I like to listen to music in the morning or on the way to work that helps wake me up and is motivational. And then throughout the day I tend to listen to instrumental music to help me concentrate, like video game, background music or classical music."

Music is their emotional support and mood enhancer.

"If I am home alone and want to have a one-person party I know exactly what playlist to blast and dance to."

"Music helps me unwind after a long day or when I'm feeling especially anxious/ low. It also helps to keep me calm as I can find sounds way too overwhelming especially when I go outside."

"It gives comfort when you are distressed and it has the ability to speak to you. When I was going through a breakup, my listening habits increased massively because it seemed to be the only thing I could rely on."

Seeking Community: Gen Z's True Relationship with Culture & Music Consumption 2025 lemontank

"I found out so much more about myself and my interests once I started getting into music."

With certain artists and genres fostering subcultures fans can relate to, music has become even more of a pillar of identity and self-expression. Participants particularly mentioned music's relationship to fashion, and how it encourages individuality.

"You get some artists like Bob Dylan or David Bowie that will make you almost want to become them. So you grow out your hair a little bit and things like that, or you change your fashion sense."

"I play the violin in an orchestra, compose music when I have enough free time, and listen to classical music on my car radio. It is an important part of my identity."

"I identify with the metal community. I am visually alternative. I have a mullet, loads of piercings and tattoos, and all of it is inspired by the culture around rock and metal music."

listening

Music builds community & helps build and solidify connections. Music broadens people's worldview and perspective, exposing them to new cultures and perspectives.

"I probably started going to concerts when I was 18. So I think since then it's helped me sort of bond with my friends, be more outgoing and independent. It feels like a nice community."

"I feel like there's just a certain element of community in being a K-pop fan. And I've found so many friends through K-pop and I feel like that's kind of really changed me as a person. You know, down to like, what kind of shows I watch, what kind of foods I gravitate towards, how I dress, just things like that."

"My friend group is kind of centred around music. That kind of morphed into us starting a band and hanging out with each other more and just enjoying music and going to live gigs. I mean, our whole friend group identity revolved around music and enjoying music and wanting to create music."

Seeking Community: Gen 2's True Relationship with Culture & Music Consumption 2025 lemontank BLACKSTAR bpl methodology & respondents what?

who?

This research was conducted in collaboration between lemontank, Blackstar Agency and BPI. We surveyed a voluntary sample of 500 participants aged 18-25 based across the UK, gathering insight into their experiences and behaviours within the current music landscape.

The trends in this report are drawn from primary data and shaped through in-depth qualitative analysis, supported by anonymous participant quotes, industry insight, and relevant further reading.

how?

Respondents were surveyed in April 2025, sourced via the lemontank pool of young creatives, the research platform Prolific, and grassroots UK music organisations including Small Green Shoots, Future Yard, Musical Keys, Saving Grace and Operasonic. Participants answered using the Al-moderated research platform Tellet, where they were able to submit their answers as written text or voice notes.

• age
• 18 (4%)p. 25
• (11%)p. 20
• (13%)p. 24
• (17.1%)p. 21
• 23 (14.8%)p. 22
• location
• Wales (5.0%)
• Northern
• Ireland
• North of Scotland
• England
• South West
• England (7.5%)
• Midlands (15.9%)
• South East England (39.9%)

Seeking Community: Gen Z's True Relationship with Culture & Music Consumption • 2025 methodology & respondents.

occupations looking for work

study (44.4%)

"I work at a bar at a live music venue, and study creative sound production at postgraduate level."

"I have a few jobs on the go: I work in waste management as the office manager at a clearance company, and I'm also a part-time bartender at a pub, and I am working at a dairy nearby."

work (46.3%)

of the respondents who have a job...

• other (35.4%)
• creative industries
• bpl lemontank
• BLACKSTAR

"I'm an art consultant, I sell artwork to offices."

"I'm full-time in IT, I work in Endpoint Security, which means that I ensure my organisation's workstations and servers are safe from exploitation."

"I'm currently at BIMM in Brighton studying Music Business and Live Events Management!"

• healthcare (11.7%)
• finance (7.196)
• hospitality (5.6%)
• education (15.4%)
• technology (11.7%)

bpl

BLACKSTAR

Seeking Community: Gen Z's True Relationship with Culture & Music Consumption 2025 lemontank lemontank

Jacob Rickard Founder & Director

Lola Kaeppelin Creative Producer

Max van Es

Creative Producer with additional support from Alicia Bugallo Perez, Amba Suma, Emily D'Souza, Maddy Parker, Sophie Lavin & Theo Brockbank bpl

• Commissioned by BPI
• Leon Neville
• Director, Insight & Innovation
• Rob Crutchley Insight & Analysis
• Gennaro Castaldo
• Director of Communications
• Jake Hills
• Head of Corporate Communications

Photos from Unsplash

All third-party trademarks, logos, and images used in this report are the property of their respective owners and are used here strictly for editorial, commentary, or research purposes. Screenshots from social media platforms are included under fair dealing provisions for the purposes of analysis and review. This document is intended solely for informational use. No endorsement by any individual, brand, or platform mentioned is implied.

The views expressed in this report are those of the panel, and not of any of the organisations behind commissioning the study or developing the report.

• BLACKSTAR
• Olivia Hobbs
• Founder & Director
• Breyner Baptista
• Innovation & Culture Director
• Robyn Elton Head of Audience

Sophie Page

Social & Audience Manager research made possible by Prolific with thanks to Kieran Ball tellet the Al interviewer for consumer research with thanks to Greg Burke

bpi

Insight & Innovation