Music is Everywhere

Do you download music? Do you buy CDs? Do you listen to music on your phone? Do you prefer to watch music or just to listen? What about the old-fashioned radio? Have you ever seen your favourite band or singer perform live? There are so many ways to discover, buy and listen to music!

Music videos

British teenagers like to watch their music online. Watching music on video streaming sites on the internet is now more popular than listening to the radio with young British people. Popular videos can quickly become extremely popular internationally.

Downloading music

Downloading music is a popular choice for young Brits. In the UK you can download a single for about £1 and an album for around £10. Using file-sharing websites to download music is often illegal, of course, but some people still continue to get their music this way. Recording companies and many musicians are very unhappy that people can listen to their music without paying for it.

Live music

The O2 in London is the second-largest live music arena in Europe. There you can see world-famous bands such as One Direction, Justin Bieber, Scissor Sisters, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, and Take That. This massive stadium has space for 20,000 people. Tickets are not cheap. You can pay more than £50 to see a concert at The O2.

What about free live music? There are music festivals across Britain every year that are completely free of charge. Last year more than 150,000 people went to the Tramlines free music festival in Sheffield in the north of England. The two-day festival is held every July.

Music on TV

The X-Factor is a British television music competition to find new talented singers. The TV show began in 2004 and is still extremely popular. X-Factor singers perform on a stage in front of the judges and a live audience. After the performance, the audience at home can vote by phone for their favourite acts. Many winners then go on to get a UK number-one single. But you don’t have to win The X Factor to become famous.